BMC works overnight to clean up garbage, food dumped after quota stir

Mumbai, Sep 3 (PTI) Civic personnel worked overnight to remove heaps of garbage, food items and mineral water bottles left behind on roads and Azad Maidan in south Mumbai after Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange ended his hunger strike.

After the quota protesters dispersed from Azad Maidan, which witnessed a five-day agitation, some activists on Tuesday tried to distribute the leftover food -- sent by community members from across Maharashtra -- among local residents and others passing by the area.

Still, a significant amount of food remained inside the protest site and at a couple of locations outside it till late night.

Heaps of mineral water bottles were lying in and around Azad Maidan, and some people were seen picking them up.

A World Maratha Organisation activist told PTI that they planned to distribute the remaining bottles to patients at government hospitals in Mumbai.

Unlike Monday, the square outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), located just a few metres away from Azad Maidan, and the adjoining roads comparatively cleaner on Tuesday.

However, heaps of garbage, including leftover food items, mineral water bottles, wrappers, paper plates and cups, were still seen.

A Maratha community activist on Tuesday said they would have cleaned the site, but protestors from outside Mumbai had already left, and local members dispersed due to Ganpati immersion.

Teams of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) cleaned the roads and Azad Maidan overnight. PTI KK RSY GK