Mumbai roads, station turn playgrounds for Maratha quota protesters; leftover food littered

Mumbai: As Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange continues his hunger strike at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, his supporters turned the nearby CSMT station premises into a sporting arena, playing kabaddi, kho kho and even wrestling with each other.

Some protesters on Monday dumped leftover food, empty water bottles and wrappers on road medians, the station platforms and even on tracks, and civic workers were seen cleaning the waste and other trash from the areas.

On a road outside Azad Maidan, some pro-quota protesters were on Monday seen playing cricket as the agitation acquired myriad colours with agitators, who have descended on Mumbai from all over Maharashtra, engaging in different activities to keep themselves busy and boost morale of each other.

Hundreds of Maratha community members seeking quota gathered at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and other areas in south Mumbai, causing traffic congestion and inconvenience to commuters.

A large number of protesters was on Monday seen dancing and raising slogans at CSMT in support of the quota demand, leading to overcrowding at the busy station, located just a few metres away from Azad Maidan where Jarange is staging a hunger strike from August 29 demanding reservation for Marathas under the OBC grouping.

They danced on the tunes of Hindi songs like "Main Hoon Don" and Marathi songs as well.

Some protesters jumped on dead end of the Harbour Line tracks on Monday afternoon, but they were quickly persuaded by the railway police to move out, an official said.

Another group of agitators formed a human pyramid and the person standing on the top was seen carrying a placard listing quota-related demands of the community. In another incident, a blade of a fan installed inside the CSMT station was bent.

According to the official, some protesters played kabaddi, kho kho and wrestled with each other inside the railway station, which has become "home" for many agitators for the last few days.

Speaking to reporters, Government Railway Police Commissioner Rakesh Kalasagar said adequate security arrangements have been made for both train commuters and protesters to avoid any untoward incident.

"We have requested protesters to cooperate with police and keep some space for daily train commuters so as not to hinder their movement," said Kalasagar.

On Monday, scores of agitators gathered on the road going towards Mahapalika Marg, J J Marg and D N Road, bringing traffic to a standstill for sometime.

Some groups of protesters tried to enter the Bombay Stock Exchange building premises, but security officials stopped them. The protesters then raised slogans, like "Ek Maratha Lakh Maratha" and "Aarakshan Aamcha Hakka Che" (reservation is our right), outside the building.

After a Bombay High Court order, police placed barricades on the road leading to Azad Maidan.

Commuters, specially office-goers who travel by trains, were inconvenienced due to the crowded platforms at Mumbai CSMT.

Some of the protesters on Monday tried to stop vehicles, including BEST buses, by blocking their way on roads outside CSMT, BMC areas and near Metro theatre, but police dispersed them.

Jarange has been staging an indefinite hunger strike over his demand for a 10 per cent reservation to the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. Thousands of people from the community have arrived in Mumbai to support his stir.

On Monday evening, vehicles carrying food from different parts of the state arrived outside CSMT station, and protesters, cheering loudly, were seen distributing food items among community members. They also offered food items to people on way to home from offices.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said it has deployed around 1,000 sanitation workers to maintain cleanliness at Azad Maidan and surrounding areas, where a large number of protesters have gathered.

The BMC stated it had distributed garbage collection bags among protesters, appealing to them to deposit trash in the bags and hand them over to the civic body. In addition, the civic body has set up 400 toilets at various locations.

Despite the deployment of sanitation workers, garbage was thrown on roads outside Azad Maidan, particularly at the square in front of CSMT and on connecting roads where protesters' vehicles were parked.

In the evening, the square outside CSMT resembled a dumping ground with water bottles, banana peels, tea cups, wrappers, and discarded food items strewn around. Movement of people and vehicles became difficult due to haphazardly parked vehicles and mud slurry caused by light rain.

Some protesters had dumped leftover food items, including breads, samosas, fruits and pickles, on the road medians. BMC workers were seen cleaning the food waste and other trash from the area, in addition to using water jet machines to wash the roads.

Condition inside CSMT was no different. Empty water bottles, wrappers, cardboard boxes, and leftover food were littered across the station concourse, platforms, and even on the tracks.

However, not all protesters were contributing to the mess. A group of protesters from Ambegaon tehsil in Pune district was seen cleaning the CSMT station premises.