The Mumbai Police on Thursday deployed more than 1,500 personnel at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai to ensure law and order during activist Manoj Jarange’s indefinite fast over the Maratha quota demand, officials confirmed.
Jarange, 43, had earlier announced that he would begin his hunger strike at Azad Maidan on August 29. Accompanied by thousands of supporters, he left his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district on August 26. On Thursday morning, the activist paid tribute at Shivneri Fort, the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, before heading to Mumbai, according to news agency PTI.
Jarange has been pressing for the inclusion of all Marathas in the Kunbi category, an agrarian caste already listed under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota, which would grant the community reservation benefits in government jobs and education.
Anticipating a large turnout of supporters, police officials said that more than 20,000 protesters are expected to gather in South Mumbai. In view of this, extensive security arrangements have been put in place at Azad Maidan to prevent any untoward incidents and maintain public order, as per the news agency PTI.
Besides the local police, one company each of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) are also deployed at the protest venue and its surrounding areas to avoid any untoward incident, he said.
Some units of the central forces that are in Mumbai to provide security during the ongoing Ganesh festival have been diverted for the Maratha quota protest, the official said.
Even as the protest is set to begin on Friday, protesters from all over the state have started gathering at the Azad Maidan. The police have granted permission to Jarange to stage his agitation there only for a day, with the number of protesters not exceeding 5,000.
Manoj Jarange reaches Pune ahead of Mumbai protest
Activist Manoj Jarange, who has set out for Mumbai to launch an agitation to press for reservation to the Maratha community, reached the Shivneri Fort`s base in Pune district along with hundreds of supporters on Thursday morning, reported news agency PTI.
He is likely to pay homage to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the fort, the birthplace of the Maratha warrior king.
Jarange, on Wednesday, left along with his supporters from Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district, located over 400 km from Mumbai, to launch a fresh hunger strike, but agreed to meet a government delegation near Pune on his way to the state capital, reported PTI.
The 43-year-old activist has been demanding a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
Jarange told reporters in Jalna that he had received a call from Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, informing him that a government team would arrive at Shivneri for talks.
(With PTI inputs)
