Mumbai: Group demanding fixed housing for Maharashtrians to stage protests today

The group will be protesting at Shiv Sena chief the late Balasaheb Thackeray’s memorial in Shivaji Park. File Pic/Ashish Raje

A group of Vile Parle residents belonging to the Marathi community will be gathering at Hutatma Chowk on Saturday to express their displeasure with the state government, which they say did not take up their demand for reservation in housing. The organisation, called Parle Pancham, has demanded reserved houses in the city for families who consume non-vegetarian food.

President of Parle Pancham, Shridhar Khanolkar, told mid-day, "We have witnessed a few cases where families who consume non-vegetarian food have been denied houses. We had written to Guardian Minister of Mumbai City Deepak Kesarkar on November 23 and were expecting the issue to be discussed in the Winter Session. However, neither did we get a response nor was there a discussion in the Assembly. Considering this, we have decided to gather on Saturday at Shiv Sena chief the late Balasaheb Thackeray's memorial in Shivaji Park and at Hutatma Chowk, which is the memorial for the 106 people who sacrificed their lives for Maharashtra. We will offer apologies at the memorials on behalf of those who are failing to secure the interests of Marathi community."

Parle Pancham demanded the reservation of apartments after a woman was denied an office space on rent in Mulund in October, allegedly because she was Marathi. "We understand the business of real estate, which is why we offered a practical solution. We are not asking for a continued reservation. Builders can reserve 50 per cent of the apartments in new buildings for Marathis for a year. If they don't get picked up, the reservation can be cancelled. Additionally, the state government should mandatorily facilitate the building of small houses reserved completely for the Marathi community."