The day-long ‘Maharashtra bandh’ called by various dalit and other organisations to protest the violence against commemoration of Bhima-Koregaon battle has been withdrawn, Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh leader Prakash Ambedkar announced on Wednesday.
Incidents of road blockades, arson and stone-pelting were reported in Mumbai and other areas throughout the day, affecting normal life in the state.
“The bandh was mostly peaceful barring two incidents in Mumbai and one in Aurangabad. I want to congratulate the protesters as they kept their calm even at a time when the emotions were very high,” said Ambedkar.
“People are extremely hurt at the communal tensions in the state. The contributions of the marginalized community towards nation building are being questioned today,” he added.
Ambedkar also demanded that police arrest Bhide Guruji and Milind Ekbote for inciting mobs against people who had gathered at Bhima Koregaon on January 1.
“An inquiry will be conducted into incidents of violence that took place across the state. We are monitoring the CCTV footage,” Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Daily life in Mumbai was disrupted as protesters attacked city buses, stopped suburban local services and blocked roads at various places in the city. Dalits began protests in suburban Chembur, Ghatkopar, Kamraj Nagar, Vikhroli, Dindoshi, Kandivali, Jogeshwari, Kalanagar and Mahim, police said.
The bandh prompted a near-total response in Marathwada, punctuated by sporadic violence, with transport and establishments being mostly shut, and people keeping indoors. Police sources said that the bandh was near total in almost entire region even as police teams continued to be on their toes rushing from one place to the other following reports of stone pelting from sensitive areas.
In Pune, Dalit groups took out morchas in some parts of the city. The demonstrators blocked the Pune-Solapur highway at Loni Kalbhor, and also some of the city’s main roads like Fergusson College Road and Jangli Maharaj Road, albeit for a short while. The Pune-Mumbai Expressway was blocked for a short while at the Urse toll plaza.
On the Western Railway, protesters obstructed services at Nallasopara Station. Thirteen buses of the civic transport service ‘BEST’ were damaged by protesters in Kalanagar area (Bandra), Dharavi, Kamraj Nagar, Santosh Nagar, Dindoshi and Hanuman Nagar, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said. The agitation of Dalit outfits halted suburban local train service at Ghatkopar as trains heading towards CSMT were affected.
Several local trains running towards CSMT were halted at various stations after protesters blocked the tracks prohibiting any train movement.
Mumbai’s ‘Dabbawalas’ chose not to provide their services today. A spokesperson of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association said, “Since most of our customers may find it difficult to reach office, we have decided to suspend our services today”.