Stir organisers blame govt amid confusion over use of Cross Maidan

Had we been given permission to use Cross Maidan earlier, protesters would have had a designated place to stay and not be forced to seek shelter on streets and in railway stations, said organisers

Mumbai: The Maratha Kranti Morcha, organiser of the ongoing hunger strike and protest at Azad Maidan seeking reservation benefits for Marathas, was allowed to use Cross Maidan near Churchgate station for setting up a shelter and parking facility in the evening on Monday before permission was retracted, said Virendra Pawar, a senior leader with the Morcha in the city.

On Monday, the fourth day of the hunger strike cum protest, the Morcha also started work on erecting a waterproof pandal at Azad Maidan (Raju Shinde/ HT Photo)

“Police officials informed us this evening that we could use the Cross Maidan. Accordingly, Jarange (Manoj Jarange-Patil who is spearheading the stir and is on an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan) made an announcement from the stage. But later, the administration told us that no permission has been given. It has created new trouble for us,” Pawar told Hindustan Times.

The Morcha had applied for permission to use the Cross Maidan nearly two weeks ago, but did not get any response till Monday, he alleged.

“Had we been given permission to use Cross Maidan earlier, protesters would have had a designated place to stay and not be forced to seek shelter on streets and in railway stations,” Pawar said. The ground can easily accommodate 10,000 protesters, he said, blaming the state government and the administration for the massive crowds in and around the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and neighbouring areas since Friday.

“We have asked activists not to misbehave with anyone or trouble even a single trader in Mumbai. We have circulated this message through our teams and also formed a dedicated team of 30 volunteers to help the police and the organising committee in managing the crowd,” Jadhavrao said.

The 30-member team was in touch with the police and was helping out whenever the police sought their help in controlling protesters. “Since Sunday, these volunteers have detained around 10 people who entered the crowd as activists and tried to create disturbances. They have all been handed over to the police,” he said.

The organisers have constituted other teams as well to manage the crowds. A 50-member team is providing medical aid to protestors while a team of 15 is dealing with legal matters like permissions. Another team of 20 is handling arrangements for food and water while the largest team, comprising 100 volunteers, is managing the stage where Jarange-Patil is on hunger strike.

“The team of 100 also looks after security and other arrangements near the stage,” said Jadhavrao.

He also alleged that though the organisers had clearly communicated to the authorities that more than 10,000 people were expected to reach Mumbai by Thursday in preparation for the protest, the civic body had provided only 50 toilets and increased the number to around 2,000 after Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has set up a community kitchen in the basement of the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh building to provide food to protesters round the clock.