Another uncertain but an apparently trying day awaits Mumbaikars, their counterparts in the neighbouring Thane Navi Mumbai, Palghar and other parts of Maharashtra, as Maratha community members threaten to enforce a bandh on the occasion of August Krnat Din on Thursday, to demand reservations in jobs and education.
Thursday’s is the second bandh in Mumbai and neighbouring areas within a span of a fortnight called by the Marathas owing allegiance to Martha Kranti Mahamorcha (MKM), an organisation that is spearheading the ongoing agitation to demand reservations for their community members in jobs and education. Earlier on July 25, the bandh called by the MKM had resulted in incidents of violence and arson.
Though the MKM has claimed that its members would not resort to any violence or disruption in essential services on Thursday, Mumbaikars and their counterparts in Thane and neighbouring Thane, Navi Mumbai and Palghar are keeping their fingers crossed.
On its part, the MKM has drawn up a 10-point code of conducts for its members to ensure a “peaceful” bandh between 8 am and 6 pm on Wednesday. Among other things, the Maratha organisation has exhorted its members not to indulge in stone-pelting or damaging government or private property, to co-operate with the police in maintaining law and order, to exempt essential services from the bandh, not to lend credence to rumours and keep a vigil on the rumour floating on the social media.
“By conducting themselves in a peaceful manner, Maratha activists should contribute to the preparation of an action plan to achieve our objective. They should not do anything that would inconvenience the common man,” a statement issued by MKM’s Mumbai unit said.
“We will not be able to seek resolution to the reservation issue through suicides by the activists. We are requesting the Maratha activists not to commit suicides. Please do not do anything that would sabotage our plans and contribute to a successful bandh. If we are able to that, we will be in position to celebrate next year’s August Kranti Din as Maratha Kranti Din,” the MKM said in its appeal to the Maratha activists.
However, not wanting to take chances, some of the private educational institutions in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane and Navi Mumbai have declared holiday on Thursday. However, till late in the evening, the Maharashtra government had not declared holiday for its schools.
There was also uncertainty on whether the public transport services like trains and buses would function normally on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai police and their counterparts in Thane, Palghar and Navi Mumbai have made elaborate arrangement for maintenance of law and order during the bandh.
On the previous bandh day on July 25, Mumbaikars and their counterparts in neighbouring districts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad had borne the brunt of violence witnessed during thebandh called by Maratha organisations demanding reservations in jobs and education, as the protesters blocked roads, stopped trains, indulged in massive stone-pelting and damaged vehicles.
Though the MKM had called off the bandh midway through the day at around 3 pm, the spiral of protests and violence that had begun earlier in the morning had continued in Navi Mumbai till late in the evening.
The police had resorted to lathi-charge and opened fire in the air to quell the protesters, who set on fire a police van and two other vehicles on fire at Kalamboli area in Navi Mumbai.
Apart from bursting tear gas shells, the police had used batons to disperse the protesters squatting on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Three policemen, including an inspector, were injured in the incidents of stone-throwing, at Kalmboli.
The protesters hurled petrol filled bottles at a BMC-run BEST bus and set it on at Mankhurd in north-east Mumbai. Some vehicles were set ablaze on the Sion-Panvel highway, while a civic bus was damaged near the Kalyan railway station, while a Thane Municipal Transport(TMT) bus vandalised at Thane’s Wagle estate area
Though there had been no coercion from the protesters, shops and business establishments remained closed at many places across Mumbai and neighbouring Thane, Kalyan, Navi Mumbai and Panvel on that day, while autorickshaws had gone off the roads in all the Mumbai suburbs and adjoining Thane and Navi Mumbai since morning, causing considerable hardships to people.