Thane: Throngs of Marathacommunity members, predominantly the youth and women, swarmed the streets of Thane on Sunday for a peaceful demonstration to ramp up their demand for reservations, repeal of the atrocity law and death for the rapists of a minor in Kopardi, Ahmednagar district.
The police said it was the largest rally of peaceful demonstrators ever in the lake city, with close to two lakh people sporting caps and holding saffron flags as they participated in the ‘mook morcha’, or silent march, from Teen Haath Naka on the Eastern Express Highway to the district collectorate.
The organizers ensured there was no sloganeering or applauding, while three drone-installed cameras also kept vigil.
Traffic in many areas, especially the core city, was heavily hit. Teen Haath Naka was blocked and there was a km-long jam on the flyover there.
The protest began with the customary ode to Jijamata, Chhatrapati Shivaji’s mother, at 11 am and ended at 2 pm. Women led the three-km march.
Thousands drove down from as far as Marathwada for the march. Politicians from the NCP, Shiv Sena and the BJP also walked with the protesters.
ublic works minister Eknath Shinde, MoS Ravi Chavan and NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad were among the politicians present. Chavan told the media that the state was working towards the quota demand.
“We have assembled here to draw the attention of the state and society towards our demand for reservations in education and jobs,” a young Nerul resident, Payal Chavan, said in her address. “The state is proposing to include us in the economically backward class, but we never wanted it, and want reservation under OBC only.”
Some Muslim, Jain and Marwari community members also expressed solidarity with the Marathas in the protest.
Eight young girls presented a memorandum of 11 demands to collector Mahendra Kalyankar. The protest concluded with speeches by a few young girls.