Illegal agitation will not go unpunished, says civic official
To support the agitation of Anna Hazare and yoga guru Baba Ramdev in Delhi, activists in the city held a one-day hunger strike on the premises of the Swatantryaveer Savarkar Memorial on Karve Road even though they lacked permission from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
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In solidarity: A woman signs on a sheet to express support for the agitation at the Savarkar Memorial on Karve Road yesterday. Pic/Vivek Sabnis
Deputy Commissioner, Anti-Encroachment Cell, Ramesh Shelar said the agitators would be punished for holding the agitation illegally. “I have not received any kind of formal application from the agitators, nor such permission was given by concerned ward office on Ghole Road,” Shelar, who is in charge of the department that gives permissions for conducting public rallies or agitations, said.
“Therefore, action should be taken against them for using a public place without formal permission from PMC.”u00a0Karve Road Ward officer S V Landge also said permission for the agitation had not been granted.u00a0“The permission requires a no-objection certificate from the ward office, the police and the traffic branch,” an official from Shelar’s office said.
A written notice issued by PI S G Kenjale, Deccan Gymkhana police station, warned the agitators that the permission required to install a pandal had not been acquired. The notice also stated that the agitation was held despite the prohibitory order on a public gathering. The notice issued by police said agitators would be held responsible if any damage to public property occured.
Around 300 agitators from various organistions supporting Hazare gathered at the venue. Hazare’s Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan Trust, Baba Ramdev’s Bharat Swabhiman Trust, Shri Shri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living, India Against Corruption gathered at the Savarkar Memorial with 72 social organisations and NGOs.
The agitators were protesting against the immense delay in approval for the Lokpal Bill and the failure of the government to bring back black money from foreign banks. Vijay Warudkar, coordinator, Bharat Swabhiman, said the PMC had not given permission even after several applications.
“Agitation is our constitutional right and nobody can stop us. We are ready for arrest if any legal action has to be taken against us. We condemn the PMC for not giving permission to us when other government offices permitted the agitations in Delhi, Mumbai and at 500 other places in the country,” Warudkar said.
In the past
Bharat Swabhiman Trust was not given permission when it held an indefinite hunger strike at Savarkar Smarak on Karve Road on June 6, 2011.u00a0
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