Several Maratha organisations have now called for a “Mumbai shutdown” today, with the Maratha Sakal Samaj, the state-level organisation, appealing to all community members to observe it peacefully.
“Thousands of people are returning from the Pandharpur festival so Mumbai and Konkan region shall observe a shutdown tomorrow. We appeal to all people to maintain peace and discipline,” said Maratha Kranti Morcha leader Virendra Pawar.
Starting with Aurangabad, a series of processions were taken out yesterday in various districts of northern, western Maharashtra and Marathwada with thousands taking to the streets demanding reservations in government jobs and education.
Roads were blocked in Aurangabad, Osmanabad and Pune, while a fire brigade van, a bus and a truck (in Aurangabad), a police van (in Hingoli), at least five state transport buses (in Kolhapur), were attacked and other several vehicles also damaged by angry Marathas.
There was rail blockade for half-an-hour at Parbhani.
The Mumbai-Agra National Highway in Nashik was blocked, while protests were held in Nanded, Jalgaon, Parbhani, Kolhapur, Osmanabad, Ahmednagar, Jalna, Nandurbar, Yavatmal and Akola districts, and roads were blocked by burning tyres in Nashik and Hingoli.
In view of the violence, state transport bus services were suspended in Aurangabad, Osmanabad and Nanded, stranding thousands of passengers, while a silent protest was taken out in Nagpur.
However, Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and some other cities remained unaffected by the shutdown yesterday.
As a precautionary measure, the authorities suspended Internet services in Aurangabad, some schools and colleges remained shut in Nanded, Osmanabad and other places.
Several districts observed a spontaneous shutdown yesterday after Kakasaheb Dattatreya Shinde, 28, committed by jumping into the River Godavari in Aurangabad’s Kaigaon yesterday.
At his funeral – which witnessed a huge turnout in his native Kaanad village – angry Marathas objected to the presence of Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire and roughed him up, forcing him to make a hasty exit. Similarly, Congress legislator Subhash Zambad was also manhandled and had to be whisked off to safety by police.
The Maharashtra government announced a compensation of Rs1mn for Shinde, but various parties including Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena have demanded Rs5mn.