Around 15-20 lakh people are expected to attend the peace march that is being held over various demands by the Maratha community
Pune youngsters have got special Maratha Kranti Morcha haircuts for the occasion
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Pune: Mumbaikars heading to Pune today may have a tough time with 20 roads expected to be closed for the Maratha show-of-strength morcha in the city. The morcha, that could see 15 to 20 lakh people in attendance, is over the heinous gang-rape and murder of a 14-year-old Maratha girl at Kopardi village in Ahmednagar on July 13, allegedly by three Dalit youths. Apart from the death penalty for the accused, the protesters are demanding the scrapping of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, saying it is being misused. The protesters also want reservation for Marathas in education and government jobs.
Advocate Chandrakant Bhosale said, “As a lawyer, I have come across several cases of misuse of the Atrocities Act. We are not against anyone, but we must stop such misuse.”
T-shirts and cars supporting the Marathi cause will be seen at the morcha in Pune today
Haircuts, T-shirts
The city’s youngsters, too, are showing their support to the cause with special haircuts and T-shirts. While some have got Maratha Kranti Morcha haircuts, others have got special T-shirts made for the occasion.
Vikas Chavan (42), who runs Vikas Hair Cutting salon in Pune City, said, "For the past few weeks, I have been flooded with requests from youngsters for special Maratha Kranti Morcha haircuts. It takes me two hours per head and I take Rs 200-Rs 300 per haircut."
Gaurav Dumbare (32), a software techie, said, "This is a peaceful, apolitical march and we are doing this for our community. I have bought a T-shirt for the morcha."
Prajakta Ghorpade, a call centre staffer, said, “My friends and I are going to dress in saffron coloured saris, salwar kurtas and turbans."
The rally will begin from 10 am from the Kandhoji Baba chowk and will move to Tilak Road and Laxmi Road ending six kilometres away at Council Hall where the organisers will be handing over a letter of their demands to the district collector. Women and young girls will be leading the peaceful morcha.
Roads closed
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Pune City, Praveen Munde, said, "Around 20 roads will be closed from 7.30 am onwards till the agitation ends. Fergusson College Road, the Deccan Gymkhana area, Laxmi Road, Karvenagar area and others will be completely closed to traffic. We appeal to citizens to only use public transport to travel in the city so that our manpower can focus on the agitation and maintain peace. We are expecting at least 20 lakh people to attend the rally.”
Parking arrangements have been made on roads leading to Mumbai, Wakad, Pimpri and Hadapsar.
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