Maharashtra: Villagers take over stage set up for Republic Day events to demand construction of road

Protesting locals occupied a stage and forced authorities to cancel Republic Day programmes to press for their demand for a road in their village in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal on Thursday.

Several residents of Takli village in the district on Wednesday began a hunger strike in front of the sub-divisional office in Umarkhed demanding road connectivity in their area. The locals have alleged that an 8-km road was being built to link their village to Umerkhed but the work stopped midway.

They have been demanding the completion of the road. A video shot at Takli village showed several students and women sitting on the stage where the cultural events were to be held on Thursday. It also showed an official requesting the protesters to move away and let the programmes take place but they stay put.