Clean-up begins at Manoj Jarange's protest site after court's order
What's the story
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started cleaning up the Azad Maidan area in Mumbai, where Maratha reservation protestors had camped. The move comes after the Bombay High Court ordered activist Manoj Jarange-Patil and his supporters to vacate the streets by Tuesday noon. The court had expressed concern over how the agitation had "literally paralyzed" Mumbai and gave Jarange-Patil and his supporters an "opportunity" to restore normalcy.
Clean-up efforts
BMC completes deep cleaning of roads outside Azad Maidan
After the order, the BMC undertook a "deep cleaning" of the roads outside Azad Maidan on Monday night. This was done after police issued notices to Jarange and his core committee for violating conditions laid down for the agitation. The civic body said in a statement that deep cleaning of the roads outside Azad Maidan was completed.
Ongoing protest
Jarange's hunger strike enters 5th day
In its order on Monday, the court noted that while citizens have a right to protest, it should be done peacefully and without inconveniencing others. The court observed that permission was granted for 5,000 people to gather at Azad Maidan. However, protesters spread to CST, Nariman Point and other areas of South Mumbai. This led to train services being disrupted and traffic coming to a standstill.
Protest
State government had earlier denied permission
The court said these actions violated the conditions laid down by authorities when permission was granted for a peaceful protest at Azad Maidan. The state government, which had earlier denied permission for the protest, granted permission to protest for only one day, on Friday, but extended it till Saturday. However, the protest stretched into its fourth day on Monday, which Jarange-Patil said was his "final" one, adding he would stop drinking water.
Quota
Jarange-Patil is demanding 10% reservation
Jarange-Patil is demanding 10% reservation for the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. He warned that over five crore Marathas are ready to move to Mumbai if their demand is not met. The Maharashtra government, on Sunday, said it will seek legal advice on whether the Hyderabad gazetteer can be used to provide Kunbi (a generic term applied to several castes of traditional farmers in Western India) status to Marathas.