- Traffic near CSMT and BMC was halted due to the large number of protesters on the roads
- Protesters cooked and distributed food, and used water from tankers and BMC arrangements
- Approximately 45,000 protesters arrived on Friday, with 30,000 staying overnight in Mumbai
Crowds appeared to be increasing on the second day of quota activist Manoj Jarange's hunger strike on Saturday, with thousands of Maratha protesters virtually turning the area surrounding the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai into their camp.
As the rains took a break, many more people were on the roads outside the iconic Victorian edifices of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), bringing the traffic to a standstill in the morning.
The road outside the Azad Maidan -- where Jarange has launched his indefinite fast for the Maratha quota -- has been closed for traffic, with parked vehicles of his supporters lining both sides.
Some of the protesters took their baths in the open, using water from the tankers arranged by the organisers or the BMC. A group of seven to eight young men was seen bathing in a fountain near the BMC building.
Protesters prepare food on a pavement during the activist Manoj Jarange-led Maratha reservation agitation. Photo Credit: PTI
While many of them had to cook their food on the road the previous night, packets of cooked food, including khichdi, were being distributed on Saturday.
Every now and then, groups of protesters -- nearly all of them wearing saffron scarves -- shouted slogans, asserting that they would not leave until the community was granted reservations. Many youngsters were also seen dancing on the road to the beats of `halgi', a traditional drum.
Supporters of the Maratha quota agitation protest, demanding Maratha reservation. Photo Credit: ANI
Some protesters reached the Jehangir Art Gallery, about one km away from the Azad Maidan, and shouted slogans. Many wandered off to visit local landmarks such as the Gateway of India and thronged eateries in the area. In Navi Mumbai, where hundreds of vehicles carrying protesters have been parked, a group that claimed to be from Beed was seen heckling a young couple. The couple left the area immediately.
Groups of protesters blocked the road outside the CSMT in the morning, complaining that the BMC made no arrangements for shelter, water, and toilets for them. Finally, Jarange appealed to them, over the microphone from his protest site, to clear the road.
According to police, some 45,000 protesters travelled to south Mumbai on Friday, and about 30,000 of them stayed back overnight.
The protesters have arrived in the state capital from across Maharashtra -- a significant number of them from the eight districts of Marathwada -- in some 8,000 vehicles, as per police estimates.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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