Manoj Jarange Patil: The man who sparked the Maratha protests
Since 2014 the 40-something Manoj Jarange Patil has undertaken umpteen agitations seeking reservations for the Maratha community which have largely gone unnoticed. The lanky mullet-sporting Patil’s most recent hunger strike has, however, set off turmoil in the state sparking off violence in parts of Maharashtra and anger within the Maratha community after Patil’s supporters and the Jalna Police clashed on Friday. Originally hailing from Beed, Patil is said to have shifted to Ambad in Jalna to make a living starting off by working in a hotel. Reports suggest that Patil started off as an activist of the Congress but subsequently broke off from the party to set up his own organisation called Shivba Sanghatna that was meant for empowerment of the Maratha community. Patil has since 2014 undertaken various hunger strikes and marches to push for reservation for the Maratha community. Most of his protests, however, did not find resonance beyond Jalna district.
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- Lathicharge in Jalna: Eknath Shinde orders inquiry into use of force; Jalna SP sent on leave
- Maratha quota protest in Jalna: Oppn steps up heat on govt, blames Fadnavis for lathicharge
- Amid Jalna flare-up, Maratha quota row returns to haunt BJP as MVA turns up heat
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said the those from the Maratha community who have old documents from Nizam era will get Kunbi OBC caste certificates.
The government has also constituted a five-member committee led by former Justice Sandeep Shinde that will prepare the Standard Operating Procedure for issuing Kunbi caste certificates. Read more
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Many special educators from Maharashtra launched an indefinite hunger protest at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on Tuesday — on the occasion of Teachers’ Day — demanding permanent appointments and salary revision.
These teachers have been complaining that the state government has failed to absorb them as regular employees, with their old scanty figure salary remaining the same from the beginning — making everything difficult for them. Read more
A delegation of Maharashtra ministers who visited Maratha protesters at Jalna district to engage with them failed to deliver a solution in the ongoing deadlock, as protesters maintained that Marathas in Marathwada are already in the list of OBCs, and the government should immediately issue an order stating the same. Read more
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested two persons, including an official of a firm associated with MMRDA, in connection with a bribe of Rs 7,000 collected from a local internet service provider in Maharashtra's Palghar district, an official said on Wednesday.
The duo has been identified as Ashok Kumar Suryabanshrai (34), a field supervisor of a technical consultancy firm contracted by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), and Sahid Salim Varsi (25), a private person.
Dayanand Gawde, ACB's deputy superintendent of police, Palghar, said in a statement that Suryabanshrai demanded Rs 7,000 from a local internet service provider to allow him to lay fibre optic cables over an electric pole installed within the limits of MMRDA in Dahanu.
The field supervisor claimed that the money would be given to MMRDA to obtain permission to lay the cables, the complainant told ACB. The anti-graft body laid a trap and arrested Sahid accepting the bribe on behalf of Suryabanshrai on Tuesday. The field supervisor was also arrested, he said. A case has been registered against the two under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the official added. PTI
Police have arrested a 49-year-old man and seized mephedrone, a banned drug, worth Rs 50 lakh from his possession in Navi Mumbai township, an official said on Wednesday. Acting on a tip-off, the Navi Mumbai police's Anti-Narcotics Cell laid a trap near the man's house in Taloja area on Tuesday evening and caught him.
The police seized 500 gms of mephedrone powder, a synthetic stimulant, from his possession, the official from Taloja police station said. The man was booked under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, he said. The police were trying to find out from where the accused sourced the contraband and to whom he planned to sell it, the police said. PTI
An internal survey by the Maharashtra agriculture department has thrown up some interesting facts about the dry spell in the state. Rather than the usual areas of Marathwada, it is the districts in Western Maharashtra that seem to have recorded the largest gap in rainfall.
So, in Pune circle, which includes the districts of Pune, Ahmednagar and Solapur, 164 circles (a revenue circle is a cluster of villages in a tehsil) have not seen rains for more than 21 days — the highest in the state. Given the long dry spell, the agriculture department conducted a preliminary survey to understand the extent of the problem.
This was done circle-wise. The report, which covers the duration between July 25 and August 31, covered 2,571 circles. Of these, 484 circles have seen a break in rainfall from 15 to 21 days. Also, 404 circles reported a break in rainfall of over 21 days. Read more
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted interim protection from arrest for four weeks to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar in a case related to alleged irregularities in the purchase of body bags for Covid patients. The HC observed at the present stage, custodial interrogation of applicant does not seem to be warranted and the said issue can be considered during the final hearing of the plea
The Maharashtra government had orally assured the Bombay High Court that no coercive action would be taken till Wednesday against Pednekar in connection with the case. She moved the court after a sessions court on August 29 rejected her pre-arrest bail plea, observing that the allegations prima facie showed a conspiracy involving misuse of power and public money.
Deputy Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday met with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Pawar and Fadnavis were spotted leaving Chief Minister Shinde's residence early this morning.
The meeting was held amid the current protests in the state over the demand of reservation for the Maratha community in education and jobs. Although the Maharashtra government issued an apology on Monday for the lathi charge on protestors in Jalna, the opposition has been pressurizing the government on the issue demanding Shinde's resignation. (ANI)
Manoj Jarange, whose hunger strike for Maratha quota entered the 9th day on Wednesday, has dehydration and he is now being administered intravenous fluids, said doctors monitoring the activist's health condition in Maharashtra's Jalna district. His blood pressure was also on the lower side in the morning, a health official told PTI.
The activist on Tuesday said he would stop drinking water and fluids after four days if a favourable decision on quota is not taken. A team of doctors is monitoring his health condition regularly.
"Jarange has dehydration and his creatinine level is a little high. We have started giving him intravenous fluids," Jalna's Additional Civil Surgeon Dr Pratap Ghodke said. "Though Jarange's vital parameters are fine, his blood pressure is on the lower side. His BP recorded this morning was 110 (systolic) and 70 (diastolic). The electrolytes are fine and his heart rate is also satisfactory," he added. (PTI)
Three persons were killed and two others injured when their car jumped a road divider and collided with a truck on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in Maharashtra's Palghar district on Wednesday morning, police said.
The car with five occupants was heading from Mumbai towards Ahmedabad in Gujarat when the accident took place near Sativali village at around 6.30 am, said senior police inspector Jairam Ranavare from Valiv police station.
The car jumped the road divider, went into a lane on the other side and collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction, he said. Three car occupants died on the spot while two others were injured, the official said, adding the vehicle was completely damaged.
After being alerted, local police and firemen rushed to the spot. The two injured persons were admitted to a hospital for treatment. The bodies were sent to a government hospital for post-mortem, the police said. PTI
The Mumbai police on Tuesday registered an FIR against Kamlesh Sutar, editor-in-chief of news channel Lokshahi, and media person Anil Thatte for allegedly broadcasting an explicit video purportedly of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya. Responding to the case registration, Sutar tweeted, "Mumbai Police has registered a case against me in the case of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya's viral video. I have cooperated with the police investigation earlier and will continue to do so. However, even if this is the case, the role of the public and the work of raising questions will continue unabated!"
Zika virus is transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. Infection during pregnancy can cause certain birth defects in the child. There is no vaccine or medicine for Zika, which has symptoms like fever, rash, headache, joint pain, red eyes, and muscle pain.
People should not panic as Zika infection is a “self-limiting disease”, the BMC has said.
A second case of Zika virus has been found in Mumbai, the BMC said. The second patient is a 15-year-old girl from suburban Kurla in eastern Mumbai which is under the jurisdiction of the civic body's L-ward.
The girl, who had other comorbidities, complained of fever and headache since August 20 and received treatment from a private hospital, the release said. She was on Tuesday shifted to a government hospital where her condition is stable.
The BMC on August 23 declared that the first Zika case had been reported in the city after a 79-year-old man from Chembur contracted the viral infection. He completely recovered from it.
Two weeks ahead of Ganeshotsava, municipal commissioner and state appointed administrator, Iqbal Singh Chahal, has asked all 24 ward officers of Mumbai to ensure that all garbage related complaints are addressed immediately, and has also asked officers to regularly inspect their wards.
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Hoax calls continue to be a headache to Mumbai Police, which is currently preparing to ratchet up security for the upcoming festive season. In the last 24 hours, Mumbai Police’s control room received two calls about bombs placed in the city, both of which turned out to be prank calls.
However, to declare a threat call hoax, the police need to undertake a security drill including tracing the threat call, clearing the area where the bomb is alleged to be placed, thereby leading to waste of manpower, time and and resources. Read more
The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed an interim application by the World Crest Advisors LLP, promoter group of Dish TV India Pvt Ltd, seeking to restrain Yes Bank along with J C Flowers (JCF) Asset Reconstruction Private Limited from exercising their rights including those of voting over shares in Dish TV.
A single judge bench of Justice R I Chagla passed the verdict on an interim plea by World Crest in its commercial suit against Catalyst Trusteeship, a security holder in Yes Bank, seeking restraining order against bank and JCF from transferring, alienating, creating any third party rights in respect of the suit shares of Dish TV.
Moreover, the relief was also sought through injunction against Catalyst and JCF from interfering and/or seeking to participate in the management and affairs of Dish TV by claiming rights under the suit shares.
Omkar Gokhale reports
In a move that is set to bring relief to hundreds of migrants who will go to their hometowns in the Konkan region to celebrate Ganeshotsav, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to open a 42km stretch of the Mumbai-Goa highway–a one-side lane from Panvel to Kasu in Raigad district–ahead of the festival. The work of converting the bituminous road into a cemented one is underway, said an NHAI official.
A highway spanning 555km has been planned to connect Mumbai and Goa, of which 460km lies in Maharashtra till Patradevi in Sindhudurg district.
The NHAI is constructing 84km of the highway from Panvel to Indapur in Raigad district and the work has been divided into two packages. Package 1 comprises the 42km stretch from Panvel to Kasu while package 2 involves works on the remaining 42km stretch from Kasu to Indapur.
Sweety Adimulam reports
The Mumbai police have booked four people, including the owners of a civil contractor company, on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder after a 30-year-old labourer fell to death from the 20th floor of an under-construction tower in Byculla (West) Sunday.
The police have registered a suo motu case in the matter.
According to the police, the labourer was not provided with the required safety equipment, and the site engineer and safety officer were also not present at the site when the accident took place.
Vijay Kumar Yadav reports
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on Tuesday said a separate quota can be created for Marathas and maintained that he is against sharing of the existing quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) with the Maratha community.
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Wadettiwar said he was not opposed to the idea of increasing the quota limit to accommodate the Maratha community in it.
'A separate quote for the Maratha community can be created. However, I am against sharing the existing quota for OBCs with the Maratha community,” the Congress leader said.
The Maharashtra government can increase the quota limit to address the demand of the Maratha community for reservation in education and jobs, he said.
'Instead of wasting time in procedures to issue certificates of Kunbi caste to the Maratha community, the Maharashtra government should increase the quota limit and accommodate the Maratha community in it,” he said.
On Maharashtra Deputy chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's claim that the previous MVA government did not take any steps to provide reservation to the Maratha community, Wadettiwar said, “Fadnavis and BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule are taking contradictory stance on (the issue of) Maratha reservation. It is a clear attempt of eyewash and misleading people.” (PTI)
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