Marathas launch 'jail-bharo' agitation in Mumbai
Mumbai, Aug 1 : Over 100 Maratha activists staged a noisy 'jail-bharo' agitation at Azad Maidan here on Wednesday, marking the intensified phase of their ongoing fortnight-long campaign for job quotas for the community.
Maratha Kranti Morcha city convenor Virendra Pawar said the agitation in Mumbai was a success and protests were also underway in other parts of the state including Nashik, Parbhani, Solapur and Kolhapur.
Thousands of activists marched to the Azad Maidan in the morning shouting slogans demanding Maratha quotas in government jobs and education. They later courted arrest and were whisked away in police vans.
Activists blocked a portion of the busy Pune-Solapur highway near Kondi and the Aurangabad-Jalna highway as part of the agitation, disrupting traffic and leading to massive traffic jams in both directions.
A large number of Marathas demonstrated outside the residence of Latur Guardian Minister Sambhaji Patil-Nilangekar and raised slogans demanding immediate announcement of quotas for the community.
In Aurangabad, a few Maratha activists tonsured their heads as a mark of protest against the government amidst heightened security in all parts of the state.
From August Kranti Day, August 9, the Maratha groups will unleash protests all over the state. The demonstrators will converge in Mumbai and launch a siege of Mantralaya, the state government headquarters in Nariman Point, Pawar added.
Today's planned jail-bharo stir came after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday that the government would announce Maratha quotas after following the due process of law to ensure it stands legal scrutiny and without affecting existing quotas for other communities.
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Tumkur: 24-year-old rider killed in car-bike head-on collision in Tiptur
Tiptur: A 24-year-old rider was killed on the spot in a head-on collision between his motorbike and a car near Bidiregudi of Kasaba hobli in the taluk.
The deceased rider, Vijay Kumar, was a resident of BL Koppalu Basaveshwara Nagara in Kasaba hobli, Arsikere taluk.
He was reportedly returning home after work at a welding factory near TM Manjunath Nagar Gate, Tiptur, when a car coming from the opposite direction collided with his bike near Bidiregudi. Vijay Kumar is said to have died at the spot due to the impact of the collision.
Locals have blamed the lack of signboards and other precautionary measures amid the construction of a four-lane national highway in the area, mainly between Bidiregudi and Konehalli. They have said that the carelessness of the National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI) has led to frequent accidents in the region.
“A meeting of officers from various government departments, including the police, was held recently under the chairmanship of the local legislator, but several NHAI officials were reportedly absent. Despite the meeting, officials appear careless in implementing safety measures, leading to a rise in accidents,” the locals said, demanding immediate action from the concerned authorities.
