Mumbai, September 2: Protests over the demand for Maratha community reservation entered their fourth day in Mumbai on Monday, with activist Manoj Jarange escalating his hunger strike by refusing water and demonstrators disrupting traffic in the city’s busy south.
Hundreds of protesters gathered around Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Azad Maidan, leading to traffic congestion and overcrowding at railway platforms. Police diverted vehicles and deployed additional personnel, while the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) suspended or rerouted buses in the area. The Mumbai Traffic Police also shut the JJ Bridge for heavy vehicles.
Doctors from the state-run JJ Hospital examined Jarange at Azad Maidan, where he vowed not to end his fast until the government grants a 10% quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. Supporters said he had stopped drinking water on Monday.
Some protesters attempted to enter the Bombay Stock Exchange premises but were stopped by security, while others blocked buses and raised slogans such as “Ek Maratha Lakh Maratha” and “Reservation is our right” outside government buildings.
Maharashtra minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads a cabinet sub-committee on the issue, said the government was working on a solution that would withstand judicial scrutiny. He met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday and said further discussions would be held with deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.
The state has indicated it will seek legal opinion on applying the Hyderabad gazetteer to extend Kunbi, an OBC caste status, to Marathas. Vikhe Patil urged protesters not to disrupt daily life, warning it could undermine public support.
