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Maratha quota protestors crowd Mumbai's CSMT, traffic hit, buses stuck
The Maharashtra government appealed to the protestors to confine their protests to the designated area.
The protestors demanding reservation for the Maratha community took to Mumbai roads and thronged the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminal (CSMT) station on Monday, disrupting normal traffic and resulting in traffic congestion in parts of the city.
The crowd led to traffic disruption, causing inconvenience to the passengers, even as the Maharashtra government appealed to the protestors to confine their protests to the designated area.
“Nobody is denying their right to protest, but it should be at Azad Maidan, not at the railway station. They should also keep in mind that such improper methods of protest are defaming the community as a whole,” water resources minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said. Patil also heads the state cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation.
Videos of the CSMT show the protestors crowding the station, and dancing to drums being played on the platform, while waving flags. The protestors also raised slogans outside the station.
The Maratha quota protests, which begun on August 29, entered their fourth day on Monday, with activist Manoj Jarange-Patil vowing to stop drinking water from today.
The protests are being held at the Azad Maidanin south Mumbai, with Jarange-Patil and his supporters demanding 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backwards Class (OBC) category.
While talks between the state government and Jarange-Patil have failed to produce any substantial results so far, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he would seek a legal opinion on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer on the Kunbi status—an OBC caste—for the Maratha community. Previous court orders on the matter had clearly mentioned that reservation could not be granted to the Marathas en-masse.
However, the protestors have said that they will not budge till their demands are met, with Jarange-Patil saying this is the “final” agitation on Maratha quota.
The Mumbai traffic police had cautioned motorists regarding disruptions in traffic movement towards south Mumbai in the morning. “Expect slow traffic and occasional disruption tomorrow morning while commuting towards south Mumbai due to ongoing agitation. Keep following directions given at traffic junctions to minimise,” the traffic police said.
