Maharashtra Bandh Today: Maratha Groups Call Shutdown After Suicide of Protester Kakasaheb Shinde; Emergency Services and Public Transport to Run

Pune, July 24: According to media reports coming in, Maratha groups have called for a complete Maharashtra Bandh on Tuesday. The Maratha Kranti Morcha Coordination Committee has declared a Maharashtra Bandh in order to protest against the delay on government's part in taking a decision of the topic of reservation for Maratha community, who have been demanding reservation for quite some time now. The Maratha Kranti Morcha on Monday, blocked the Mumbai-Pune highway after Kakasaheb Dattatreya Shinde died after jumping off a bridge into Godavari river during 'jal samadhi agitation'. Check the ANI tweet below:

Meanwhile, except for Satara, Solapur, Pune, and Mumbai, the remaining Maharashtra will be closed today. Mumbai will be closed on Wednesday, said the Maratha Kranti Morcha Convenor, Virendra Pawar. He said that the decision to have bandh in Mumbai on Wednesday was being taken so that the Varkaris (pilgrims) returning from Pandharpur, do not face any issues.

The decision to announce a Bandh comes after a 28-year-old youth, named Kakasaheb Dattatreya Shinde, jumped into the Godavari river in Aurangabad. Kakasaheb belonged to Kannada village in Aurangabad district. The incident took place on Monday afternoon, while an agitation by various Maratha groups at Kaigaon in Sillod was underway, when suddenly, Shinde jumped into the river, repeatedly over the demand for reservations from the government for the Maratha community.

Earlier, there were reports that Maratha organisations were likely to call for a Maharashtra bandh on August 9 to press for their demands including reservation. The Devendra Fadnavis-led state government has been unable to address the reservation demand of Marathas for two years. According to sources, Maratha groups were holding meetings in different districts and cities of the state to plan and strategise the protest. But now, the Maratha Groups have called for a strike on Tuesday itself, citing the "sacrifice" of Kakasaheb Dattatreya Shinde, as the reason for the bandh.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, talking on the issue of Maratha reservation on Sunday had said that the decision pertaining to Maratha reservations will only be taken by the Bombay High Court. "We will not harm the future of Maratha youths," is what the Maharashtra Chief Minister is reported to have replied, when asked whether or not his government would provide reservation to Maratha youths.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2018 02:06 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).