Maharashtra saw sporadic incidents of violence, road and rail blockages, stone-pelting and protests rallies during a bandh called by Dalit groups on Wednesday as tension spiralled in the state hit by protests against the death of a 28-year-old man near Pune earlier this week.
Schools and colleges were open in Mumbai but school buses were off roads on the day security measures were stepped up. Activists jumped on railway tracks, shouted slogans and waved flags to attempt rail blockades in Thane and Palghar districts.
Some examinations of the Aurangabad University had to be rescheduled, while internet services were suspended in the global tourist hotspot. The shutdown evoked greater response in sub-urban areas compared to urban pockets of Thane, Nagpur, Pune and other cities. The coastal Konkan region witnessed a near-total shutdown, as did the Dalit strongholds of Marathwada like Beed, Latur, Solapur, Jalgaon, Dhule, Ahmednagar, Nashik and Palghar.
Watch this space for live updates:
4:20pm: “I welcome the judicial probe but it should not be headed by a judge from the Dalit community,”says Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar.
4:15pm: Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar calls off Maharashtra bandh.
4:00pm: State NCP president Sunil Tatkare says the need of the hour is to restore peace and harmony in the state. “(NCP chief) Sharad Pawar has already said that everybody should try to ensure that there is peace and harmony,” Tatkare told PTI.
3:50pm: The shutdown disrupted the shooting schedule of film and TV projects in Mumbai. Shoots of shows like “Kundali Bhagya”, “Aisi Deewangi Dekhi Nahi Kahi”, aired on Zee TV channel, were affected in Andheri and Jogeshwari respectively.
3:45pm: Sion Panvel highway blocked by protesters for over an hour.
2: 45pm:
2:15pm: Though many taxi-auto rickshaw unions have supported the shutdown, Mumbai’s lifeline, the suburban trains and the BEST (Bombay Electric Supply And Transport) bus services were plying near-normally, with delays and thin crowds. Many shops and establishments also opened in the city and suburbs and there were the familiar crowds on roads and highways, but some hours later, they downed shutters in many areas, reports IANS.
2:00pm: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses in some sensitive districts have been suspended as a precaution after it suffered damages to 187 buses in Tuesday’s violence.
1:57pm: Heavy police deployment in Aurangabad. Stones pelted and vehicles vandalized by protesters
1:36pm: Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad says: “Atrocities are being inflicted on Dalits since the last 3 and a half years, since BJP came to power in the centre.”
1:28pm: Back in Delhi, Union minister Ramdas Athawale says: “Police must have acted if Jignesh Mevani’s speech was instigating. But he has no relation with this incident.” He was reacting to the complaint lodged against Mevani, a Dalit leader, for allegedly making provocative statements in the Bhima Koregaon incident.
1:07pm: Rail Roko at Malad, Andheri, Borivali and Dadar on Western Line from 12.40pm. Stone-pelting on trains reported at Dahisar station. No report of injuries.
1:00pm: Train services are badly affected after rail rokos on all three corridors of the Central Railway as well as on the Western Railway. The CR main line hit between Kurla and Thane. Protesters also block trains at Dadar.
12:55pm: Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses and a car vandalized by protesters in Powai.
No comments:
Post a Comment