The Maratha Kranti Morcha, which is demanding OBC status for the Maratha community to get benefits in jobs and education, called off its Mumbai bandh on Wednesday.
The Mumbai bandh, which began earlier in the day, was called off just before 3 pm after various parts saw violence.
“We only wanted to prove that we are together and proved it. We never wanted protests to get violent and therefore we are calling off our bandh in Mumbai for today,” Virendra Pawar, leader of the Morcha told reporters.
The Maratha Kranti Morcha had given the call for the bandh, demanding an apology from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur town in Solapur district.
Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state’s population, has been a hugely contentious issue.
Since morning, large groups of Maratha activists armed with saffron flags and banners took to the streets with noisy processions amidst tight police security in Mumbai and other districts like Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.
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Roads were blocked in several parts of Mumbai. There was an attempt to block the suburban railway system in Thane. Stones were pelted at city transport buses in Navi Mumbai, and private vehicular traffic was also stopped by the protesters.
Most shops and commercial establishments remained shut in important pockets like Dadar, Andheri, Mulund, Kanjurmarg, Borivali, Kandivali, and in many other places as Maratha activists went around requesting shopkeepers to down shutters and express solidarity with their cause.
A large group of protesters blocked certain pockets on the Eastern Express Highway and Western Express Highway, disrupting normal traffic movement, as well as arterial roads in the suburbs, stopping all vehicles from plying to and from on the highways.
Some protestors blocked the railway tracks at Jogeshwari but were evicted by the security forces and normal services resumed in 10 minutes, said a Western Railway spokesperson.
However, schools and colleges functioned normally, though there were reports of drop in attendance. Mumbai’s lifeline the suburban trains and long-distance services were largely unaffected and other essential services functioned smoothly.
Today was the second phase of the state-wide shutdown call by the Maratha Kranti Morcha. The first phase was held spontaneously on Tuesday in most districts of northern, western and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra.
(With inputs from agencies)