Friday frenzy: Streets jammed, emergency vehicles blocked

Mumbai came to a halt on Friday after Maratha quota agitation leader Manoj Jarange began an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan Supporters from across Maharashtra poured into the city in large numbers leading to chaos on the roads While Jarange appealed for a peaceful protest many supporters blocked roads stopped ambulances and police vehicles and allegedly abused motorists and cops leaving Mumbaikars fumingSince Thursday night Jarangersquos supporters had started arriving in Mumbai with many seen sleeping inside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus CSMT Most travelled by train or road carrying gas cylinders groceries and cooking food on the street outside the BMC officeJarange began his hunger strike at 9 am on Friday and urged supporters not to block traffic asking them to park vehicles only in designated areas However protesters defied the instructions and blocked all major roads around CSMT bringing traffic to a crawlMany motorists said they were stranded for three to four hours Protesters were seen blocking roads to sleep on them climbing onto vehicles and confronting commuters The police made repeated announcements over loudspeakers but the crowd refused to disperselsquoStuck for hoursrsquoVinayak Shankar a Byculla resident told midday ldquoI was stuck in traffic for almost three hours Protesters climbed onto my vehicle and abused me This is not the way to protest They should adopt Gandhian methods One protester even threatened to damage my car if I tried to move Normally it takes me 15 minutes to reach CSMT but today I was stuck for three hoursrdquoHe added ldquoSome protesters lay down in front of my car One banged on my bonnet and I had to plead with him not to damage my vehicle Many hurled abuses at me I felt completely helplessrdquo A taxi driver Manish Mandal said ldquoIrsquove been stuck for three hours and managed to earn only Rs 100 since morning I run a rented taxi and this affects me badly Protesters should not block roads and stop us from working This is not the way to agitaterdquoVinayak Shankar Byculla resident right Manish Mandal taxi driverlsquoWonrsquot leave Azad MaidanrsquoMeanwhile Jarange addressed the media from Azad Maidan declaring ldquoI will not retreat until my demands are fulfilled Even if I am shot dead I will not leave Azad Maidan The government must accept our demandsrdquoThe Maratha community is demanding 10 per cent reservation under the Other Backward Class OBC category with eligibility for quotas in government jobs and educationCommuters overwhelmedWhat began as a show of strength by the Maratha Morcha on Friday quickly spiralled into a day of chaos for lakhs of daily train commuters Instead of a disciplined demonstration the protest saw groups of supporters crowding into suburban trains without tickets clambering on and off moving rakes and in many cases using the agitation as an excuse to roam the cityrsquos popular hangouts rather than gathering at the designated protest sitesTrain travel throughout the day on the Central Line had turned into a nightmare Trains were jampacked not just with officegoers but also with large groups of protesters who had boarded the locals Commuters described the journey as ldquounbearablerdquo with compartments overflowing and platforms choked ldquoWe were scared to even get inside the train at Dadar looking at the hooligan behaviour When we finally managed there was no space to breatherdquo said Abhishek Narayanan who was travelling from Dadar Central Line to CSMT for workThe female commuters faced even more challenging situations as the protesters not having knowledge of local train reservations barged into the ladies coach ldquoDespite our making loud announcements about which compartments were reserved for ladies they did not listen We had to physically make them deboard the train each time a train arrived at CSMTrdquo said Inspector Vikram Dongre who is deployed at CSMTSharing frustration Mahi Gupta who was travelling from CSMT to Thane told midday ldquoWe have seen protests earlier But this was way beyond imagination They did not know how to travel by local trains and in which compartments to get in It was extremely inconvenient to travel during peak hours especially with heavy bagsrdquo Another commuter Shalini Majumdar said ldquoTravelling on the Central Line is anyway a herculean task But the additional rush of protesters made it more difficult Generally the rush is less during Ganesh Chaturthi as a lot of people visit their native place But on Friday it was more crowded than other days and that too with people who had no idea of local train travelrdquoTotal chaosThere were also instances of protesters falling off the trains as they tried to enter and deboard running trainsA striking aspect of Fridayrsquos Morcha was the blatant use of trains without tickets Groups of young men were seen openly boasting about travelling for free ldquoWhy should we pay This is our day our protestrdquo one of them told fellow passengers at CSMTWhile the heart of the protest was meant to be at the designated gathering points a large number of participants were spotted at Marine Drive turning the iconic promenade into a picnic ground Groups of young supporters lounged along the seafront clicking selfies eating snacks and chanting slogans intermittentlyResidents and office workers in South Mumbai were left baffled ldquoInstead of staying at Azad Maidan or marching as planned many of them simply came here to hang out It looked more like a picnic than a movementrdquo said Darshana Mystery who works at one of the offices at Nariman PointA protester told midday ldquoWe are here to support the hunger strike by Jarange Patil but this also becomes our only chance to explore MumbairdquoBy 400 pm 21 roads in Mumbai saw diversions curtailments or closure of BEST bus routes due to the Maratha Morcha affecting over 60 bus routes across different depotsWhile some protesters chose to have meals at various eateries including McDonaldrsquos some fed themselves at the stalls outside St George Hospital Some even went ahead and cooked their own meals on the footpath using gas cylinders and mini stoves creating a fire hazardSchools end earlyldquoStudents from JB Petit school were picked up at 658 am as usual However it became 845 am by the time they reached CSMT Seeing the traffic the students were taken to school on foot with the school bus staff chaperoningrdquo said a school bus driverGiven the situation on the streets the school let the students leave by 1045 am However the school bus driver managed to drop all the kids home only by 3 pm Around noon vehicles were taking an hour to cover the stretch of Mahanagarpalika Marg from St Xaviers College to CSMTCamps set upArriving in great numbers the protesters came prepared to set up camp Commonly 1520 protesters arrived on tractors and in trucks carrying LPG cylinders stoves and groceries that would suffice for a monthShubham Ghadge 29 a journalism student from Baramati arrived with 15 people and a kitchen setup on Friday morning By 12 pm Ghadge had set up his appliances and began preparing meals for his companions on the pavement next to the Mahanagarpalika buildingLike Ghadge several protesters had arrived with their own LPG cylinders and makeshift setups while the rest scrambled to get hold of food packages and vada pavs distributed by Morcha volunteerslsquoNo facilitiesrsquoMany protesters did not know where and how to access the washrooms Protesters were seen knocking at restaurant doors and using facilities at CSMTldquoThere are no facilities for the protesters whatsoever We have rented a room to relieve ourselves but we do not think that is sustainable There are no public bathrooms for the protesters to userdquo said Angad Naner a protester from ParbhaniDuring the second half of the day as the rains began lashing the city many took shelter at CSMT subways outside the BMC office and in covered pockets next to Azad MaidanSome reliefTo address the needs of the crowds the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC made all the lsquopay and usersquo public toilets in the vicinity of Azad Maidan free of charge for a day in addition to setting up 29 temporary toilets inside Azad MaidanMoreover three other mobile toilet units each with 10 toilet seats were made available at MG Road and 12 portable toilets were made available near the Metro site The BMC also provided six tankers for drinking waterIn light of the rain to prepare Azad Maidan for the protest the access road was levelled with two tuckloads of gravel Civic authorities also set up a firstaid room at Azad Maidan and a lsquo108rsquo ambulance has been kept on standby9amTime Manoj Jarange began his fast at Azad Maidan on FridayBy Shirish Vaktania Ritika Gondhalekar and Aditi Alurkar and with inputs from Rajendra B Aklekar and Eeshanpriya MS