The largest ‘chakka jam’ (road blockade) called by the Maratha community on Tuesday in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to press for their demands, did not witness any untoward incident.
The community has been demanding reservation, and strict punishment for the Kopardi rape accused, among other demands, for the last six months.
According to the Mumbai police, there were reports of the agitation being held in a peaceful manner at Kurla, Bhoiwada, Trombay, Bhandup, Mankhurd areas.
In Navi Mumbai around 2,500 police officers were deployed at various places to ensure there was no disruption of everyday life and the commuters were not inconvenienced. The agitation started at around 9.30 a.m. and went on till 11.30 a.m. The police were on duty since 7 a.m. The Navi Mumbai police commissioner, Hemant Nagrale, was supervising the bandobast arrangements and patrolled Vashi and Kalamboli nakas since 8.30 a.m. Mr. Nagrale said that around 200 people were detained for trying to disrupt everyday life.
The residents were full of praises for the cops’ initiatives. Dipti Jha, a resident of Vashi, said, “The cops did a commendable job and ensured that the normal activities were not disrupted. The commuters or the pedestrians did not face any difficulty.” The protesters said that vehicular movement on some roads connecting Mumbai-Pune, Nashik and Gujarat were affected.
(With PTI inputs)
