As Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange continued his hunger strike at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai for the fourth day on Monday, his supporters turned the nearby CSMT train station premises into a sporting arena, playing kabaddi, kho kho and even wrestling with each other.
On a road outside Azad Maidan, some pro-quota protesters were seen playing cricket as the agitation acquired myriad colours with agitators, who have descended on Mumbai from all over Maharashtra, engaging in different activities to keep themselves busy and boost morale of each other.
Hundreds of Maratha community members seeking quota gathered at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and other areas in south Mumbai, causing traffic congestion and inconvenience to commuters.
A large number of protesters was seen dancing and raising slogans in support of the quota demand at CSMT, leading to overcrowding at the busy station, located just a few metres away from Azad Maidan where Jarange is staging a hunger strike for reservation in jobs and education for Marathas under the OBC grouping since Friday.
They danced on the tunes of Hindi songs like "Main Hoon Don" and Marathi songs as well.
Some protesters jumped on dead end of the Harbour Line tracks in the afternoon, but they were quickly persuaded by the Railway Police to move out and there was no impact on train operations, an official said.
Another group of agitators formed a human pyramid and the person standing on the top was seen carrying a placard listing quota-related demands of the community. In another incident, a blade of a fan installed inside the CSMT station was bent.
According to the official, some protesters played kabaddi, kho kho and wrestled with each other inside the railway station, which has become "home" for many agitators for the last few days.
Speaking to reporters, Government Railway Police (GRP) Commissioner Rakesh Kalasagar said police have made adequate security arrangements for both train commuters and protesters to avoid any untoward incident.
"We have requested protesters to cooperate with police and keep some space for daily train commuters so as not to hinder their movement," said Kalasagar.
During the day, scores of agitators gathered on the road going towards Mahapalika Marg, J J Marg and D N Road, bringing traffic to a standstill for sometime.
There was heavy police deployment in and around Azad Maidan, where Jarange is sitting on hunger strike, but protesters were seen not following security personnel's instructions.
Maratha community candidates, who are trying their fortune in police recruitment this year, were seen studying on the road.
Groups of protesters tried to enter the Bombay Stock Exchange building premises, but security officials stopped them. The protesters then raised slogans, like "Ek Maratha Lakh Maratha" and "Aarakshan Aamcha Hakka Che" (reservation is our right), outside the building.
Pro-quota Maratha community members staged demonstrations in and around the CSMT premises and in front of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) building located nearby.
In the evening, after a Bombay High Court order, police placed barricades on the road leading to Azad Maidan.
Police were seen making announcement asking agitators to cooperate and follow instructions issued by them.
Commuters, specially office-goers who travel by trains, were inconvenienced due to the crowded platforms at Mumbai CSMT.
Some of the protesters tried to stop vehicles, including BEST buses, by blocking their way on roads outside CSMT, BMC areas and near Metro theatre, but police dispersed them.
Jarange has been staging an indefinite hunger strike over his demand for a 10 per cent reservation to the Maratha community in government jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. Thousands of people from the community have arrived in the financial capital to support his agitation.
Police on Sunday cautioned motorists about disruptions in traffic movement towards south Mumbai.
"Azad Maidan: Expect slow traffic and occasional disruption tomorrow (Monday) morning while commuting towards south Mumbai due to ongoing agitation. Keep following directions given at traffic junctions to minimise," the Mumbai Traffic Police posted on its official social media handle.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
