Mumbai Bandh Updates: Bandh Called Off in Mumbai, Maratha Outfits Urge Workers to Call Off Stir in Navi Mumbai and Thane
Ahead of the shutdown call, no announcement was made related to any potential aberration in the schedule of local trains and other modes of public transport.
The Maratha groups have now called off the bandh in Mumbai while the outfits have appealed to their workers in Navi Mumbai and Thane to call off the stir.
As per reports, protesters pelted stones on the police in Navi Mumbai, following which the police resorted to firing shots in the air to disperse crowds.
According to reports, the Solapur district of Maharashtra was kept out of the Bandh due to the rush of devotees to Lord Vitthal temple in Pandharpur town. The bandh has been called by Maratha outfits over their demand for reservation.
Amid the ongoing protest, public transport has been affected in several areas of Navi Mumbai. The protesters have blocked Sion Panvel highway at Kharghar, causing inconvenience to hundreds of commuters. Reports quote News18 saying that certain media reports claim that Central Railway has announced to shut services between Thane and Vashi.
Protesters torch a bus at Mankhurd as the Maratha stir gets violent. Reports inform that commuters are stuck on the Sion - Panvel highway near Kalamboli, bringing traffic between Pune and Mumbai to a standstill. Earlier in the day, protesters attacked buses and stopped local trains in Mumbai and the adjoining Thane city during the bandh called by Maratha outfits over their demand for reservation. Police have been pressed to service in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad and Satara districts to prevent any law and order problem during the bandh.
Union Minister & Republican Party of India leader Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday said that he supports the demands of the Maratha outfits. "I support the Maratha Reservation demand. I appeal protesters to protest peacefully. We need to make a law in parliament and raise reservation cap from 50% to 75%, will also raise this issue in NDA", he said.
Protesters observed rail roko at Airoli Railway station in Navi Mumbai. Shops were forcibly asked to be shut in Santacruz's Vakola area owing to the protests in the city. Reports of buses being damaged were reported from Kurla, Bhandup, Andheri, Sakinaka, Kandivali, Koparkhairane and Chandivali. In Dadar, Maratha protestors are walking towards Shivaji Park with police escort.
Protesters take to streets across multiple areas in Mulund, Dadar, Kandivali, Goregoan and Navi Mumbai areas. They tried to block vehicular movement on Western Express Highway. Reports inform that traffic has been witnessed near Borivali, while buses stopped at Lokhandwala, Kandivali, Thane and Ghansoli areas.
Amid protests, passengers were asked by protestors to get off an auto-rickshaw in Kandivali. The clashes erupted after protesting Maratha Kranti Morcha workers allegedly forced people to shut down their shops and overturned a vegetable cart.
Mumbai has been affected after violence spread across Maharashtra amid bandh called by Maratha outfits. Protestors blocked the Mumbai-Pune Expressway near Kalamboli while many buses were attacked in Kanjurmarg and Bhandup areas of Mumbai. Amid the protest, protestors allowed an ambulance to pass amidst the morcha in Kharghar.
According to reports, the protesters have blocked the Sion-Panvel Highway as quota stir gathers steam. On the other hand, the Pune railway PRO has informed there is no impact on railway services in Pune and all trains are plying normally.
Maharashtra Bandh over Maratha Quota intensifies in Maharashtra. Protestors shut down shops at Jawahar Nagar in Khar East and various areas in Bandra. There were no autos in Navi Mumbai's Vashi and Mumbai's Nalasopara owing to the protests in the city
The vegetable market in Mulund remained shut on Wednesday in the wake of the bandh called by the Maratha Kranti Morcha demanding reservation. Heavy traffic has been reported from Mulund flyover. Meanwhile, the JVLR has been blocked near IIT main gate by' protestors.
The Maratha Kranti Morcha has called for a bandh in Mumbai and adjoining areas on Wednesday demanding reservation for the community in Maharashtra. A total of nine buses have been vandalised at various places in Mumbai since Wednesday morning. The protesters blocked roads in Dadar, Ghatkopar, Jogeshwari, Thane and Powai areas.
Heavy Police deployment was witnessed across Mumbai to keep situation under-control at various places across the city after Maratha outfits called for a shutdown on Wednesday. The Maratha Kranti Samaj called for a 'peaceful' bandh on Wednesday. Impact of the bandh was observed in Thane, Navi Mumbai, Ghatkopar and Powai areas.
Amid the ongoing protests in Maharashtra over Maratha Reservation, protesters tried to shut the Jagruti Metro Station in Mumbai. Protesters also blocked trains in Thane and Ghansoli. Till date, the Maratha community has taken out 58 mookmorchas (silent marches) across Maharashtra and all these morchas were peaceful in nature. Not a single case of violence was reported during these morchas," Gaikwad claimed.
Mumbai, July 25: The Maratha Kranti Morcha, an umbrella group comprising of nearly two dozen pro-Maratha reservation groups, have issued a bandh call today in parts of western Maharashtra, including the state capital Mumbai and the adjoining regions of Thane, Navi Mumbai, Palghar and Raigad. Stay tuned here for the live updates on bandh and protest across the state here.
Ahead of the shutdown call, no announcement was made related to any potential aberration in the schedule of local trains and other modes of public transport. Read here to know what gets affected and what not.
Schools, colleges, educational institutes and public offices are also expected to operated as usual. The protesters have assured that buses ferrying schoolchildren will not be targeted.
Traffic jams, however, could be reported in some parts of the cities. As seen in the shutdown called in eight districts of Marathwada on Tuesday, the agitators may stage demonstrations on major roadways leading to disruption in normal traffic.
The statewide agitation was called after the suicide of 28-year-old activist Kakasaheb Shinde in Kayegaon town of Aurangabad division on Monday. The deceased took "jal samidhi" to protest against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' non-committal approach towards the issue of reservation for the community, the Maratha Kranti Morcha said.
The group's convenor Virendra Pawar demanded the government to set a deadline for implementing the 31-point charter of demands which the Maratha Mooka Kranti March organisers had handed over to the government on August 9 last year.
Among the points raised in the charter include reservation for the community in educational institutes and government jobs. The law which would implement the quota should sustain judicial scrutiny, the protesters said.
During the protests held on Tuesday, two youths, identified as Jayant Sonawane and Jagannath Sonawane attempted suicide in Aurangabad by jumping into river and consuming poison respectively. Both of them are admitted are stated to be out of danger.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 25, 2018 11:32 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).