Maratha quota stir brings South Mumbai to standstill as Jarange-Patil continues hunger strike

Protestors spent the night at CSMT and nearby stations without food or water, even cooking poha on the road, as officials urged them to shift to Azad Maidan.

Mumbai: The Manoj Jarange-Patil led Maratha reservation agitation entered its second day on Saturday, causing major traffic disruptions in South Mumbai as protestors blocked the square near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters.

The blocked routes connect to key locations including the Gateway of India, Mantralaya, Vidhan Bhavan, Churchgate, Metro Cinema and the Western Naval Command headquarters.

Protestors complained of lack of food, water and sanitation facilities as they sat on the roads. They also said several hotels and food stalls in the area were shut.

Jarange-Patil, continuing his indefinite hunger strike, remained at the Azad Maidan despite heavy rain, while many supporters spent the night at CSMT, suburban railway stations and porches of buildings in the Fort area.

Officials from Mumbai Police and the Traffic Police appealed to the protestors to move to Azad Maidan, which has been designated for demonstrations.

As part of the agitation, protestors cooked poha near the CSMT-BMC area and raised slogans against politicians. Jarange-Patil, who travelled for two days from Antarwali Sarathi in Ambad tehsil of Jalna district, reached Mumbai on Friday and launched what he termed the “final battle.”

He is demanding the implementation of reservation for Marathas as Kunbis, a sub-caste recognised under the OBC category. The OBC community has opposed the demand and began a parallel agitation in Nagpur on Saturday.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the government is sympathetic to the Maratha cause, but no delegation has met Jarange-Patil so far. The protest has triggered a blame game between the ruling Maha Yuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, with both sides accusing each other of neglecting Maratha demands.

“I am ready to face bullets, I am ready to go to jail, but I will not withdraw,” Jarange-Patil said while launching the agitation. Mumbai’s Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Satyanarayan Choudhary, Additional Commissioner (South Region) Abhinav Deshmukh and Deputy Commissioner (Zone 1) Pravin Munde are trying to pacify the crowd and clear the roads.