Maratha quota stir: Protesters crowd CSMT, disrupt traffic in south Mumbai

Hundreds of Maratha community members seeking quota gathered at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and other areas in south Mumbai on Monday, 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 railway station, located near Azad Maidan where activist Manoj Jarange is staging a hunger strike for reservation from Friday.

Scores of agitators also gathered on the road heading towards Mahapalika Marg, J J Marg and D N Road, bringing traffic to a standstill for sometime. 

There was heavy police deployment in the Azad Maidan area, but the protesters were seen not following the security personnel's instructions.

Some groups of protesters tried to enter the Bombay Stock Exchange building premises, but security officials did not allow them. The protesters then raised slogans, like "Ek Maratha Lakh Maratha" and "Aarakshan Aamcha Hakka Che" (reservation is our right), outside the building.

Several protesters staged protests in and around the CSMT premises and in front of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) building located nearby in the morning.

Commuters, specially office-goers who travel by trains, were inconvenienced due to the crowded platforms.

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 in the morning, but the police dispersed them.

Jarange has been staging an indefinite hunger strike at the Azad Maidan from Friday 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 Maratha community have arrived in the country's financial capital to support his agitation.

The 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.