Will stay in Mumbai for as long as it takes, say Maratha quota protesters

Mumbai, Aug 29 (PTI) They have arrived in the city in pickup vans and trucks, prepared to stay even for a month if the agitation for reservation for the Maratha community does not end quickly.

On Friday, the first day of Manoj Jarange's indefinite hunger strike for Maratha reservations, hundreds of protesters were seen taking shelter in and around the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and other railway stations in the vicinity.

The CSMT is a stone's throw from the Azad Maidan, Jarange's protest venue in south Mumbai.

The protesters, who mostly hail from the hinterland of Maharashtra, said they were determined not to leave until the demand of reservations in government jobs and education was met.

They had brought ration, gas cylinders, cooking vessels and bedding, ready for a long haul, they said.

"We are ready to stay in Mumbai for as long as it takes. Until the Maratha community gets reservation, we won't leave," said one of them, a native of Beed district. His group had parked their vehicle outside the Dockyard Road station.

More supporters were expected to join the agitation in the coming days if the BJP-led government ignored their demand, he said.

"We should get reservation from OBC quota," said Krishna Shriram Patait, a science graduate from Massajog village in Beed district. His father is a farmer, he said.

Ganesh Tarate, 29, resident of Doithan village in Aashti tehsil, said he has passed the Std 12th exam, and is now working as a tractor driver.

"We do not get the concessions which OBCs and other reserved categories get, despite having a poor economic background," he said.

Vishal Tungtakar, who came from Tondal in Purandar tehasil of Pune district, said he and his friends rode to Mumbai on motorbikes.

He is preparing for police recruitment for the second time after graduating.

"My family has just half an acre of land, which is not enough. We have somehow completed our education, which requires high fees and donations nowadays. How can we arrange lakhs of rupees for donations?" he asked. PTI KK KRK