NASHIK, May 26: Pressure is mounting on the state government to carve out a separate Malegaon district from the existing Nashik district, with the Shiv Sainiks announcing last week that they would tonsure their heads in front of Mantralaya if their demands are not met soon. In fact, the agitations for a separate district have been stepped up so much that Guardian Minister of Nashik B S Gholap was compelled to visit the area and announce that the new district would be created before the tenure of the present Government ends.While the demand for a separate Malegaon district is almost two decades old, it picked up momentum recently when an announcement was made about the bifurcation of Dhule district, to create a separate Nandurbar district. This was enough to anger the Shiv Sainiks of Malegaon, who feel that they have been let down by the Manohar Joshi Government, which did not pay any heed to their request in the past three years. They also contend that they have a legitimate reason for making the demandfor a separate district, considering the fact that the present district headquarters at Nashik is 110 km away.It is not just the Shiv Sainiks who have been making this demand. Several political parties have intermittently organised agitations for the same in the past for the same. During the regime of A R Antulay, he had announced that Nashik district would be bifurcated to form a new Malegaon district, but nothing was done. When the Joshi Government took over, the Shiv Sainiks of Malegaon presumed that their long pending demand would be met. However, when after several agitations they found that the Joshi Government was indifferent to its requests, they announced that they would adopt novel means of protest, like tonsuring their heads, to draw the attention of the Government.Later, Babanrao Gholap visited Malegaon and held a Janata Darbar, during which he announced that Joshi would soon convene a meeting on the issue to take a final decision. He even hinted at the possibility of Joshi announcing thecreation of the new district when he visits Nashik on Thursday.
