State orders Bhatia to Mumbai Archives

In another development, the State Government also transferred three Deputy Commissioners from the Pune revenue division. Incidentally, all the three Deputy Commissioners had been actively involved in Bhatia’s crusade against corruption in the revenue department.Two of the three Deputy Commissioners have been transferred to the Vidarbha region. Deputy commissioners Gokul Mavare and Purushottam Bhapkar have been transferred to Nagpur and Amravati respectively. Deputy Commissioner Pramod Nalawade has been moved to Konkan Bhavan in Navi Mumbai.

But there seemed to be no let-up in the public outcry over Bhatia’s transfer. Hundreds of Puneites today formed a human chain around the building of the municipal corporation in Shivajinagar area.

Fired by this show of protest, the Pune Kriti Samiti gave a call for Pune bandh while bureaucrat-turned-social activist Avinash Dharmadhikari and Patit Pawan Sanghatana (PPS) leader Sandeep Khardekar announced plans to go on an indefinite hunger strike.

Dharmadhikari and Khardekar called upon citizens to observe a Pune bandh on March 23 to press for the reinstatement of Bhatia. They said that they would go on an indefinite hunger strike if the State Government did not accept their demand by March 23. Bhai Vivek Chavan, leader of Bharatiya Dalit Kobra, said he too would join the hunger strike.

Braving the blazing sun, people from all walks of life gathered outside the municipal corporation and took an oath to carry on with their agitation till Bhatia was reinstated.

The protesters marched from the Alka Talkies chowk and reached the municipal corporation office via Laxmi Road and Shivaji Road. The entire stretch rang to shouts of “We want Bhatia” and “Yuti sarkarcha nishedh aso (Down with the alliance Government)”. Noticeable in the human chain was the large participation of women and youth.

After reaching the municipal corporation office around noon, people got down to joining hands to form the chain and within a few minutes it was complete the first time that citizens had `gheraoed’ the municipal corporation building to protest the transfer of an officer.

This apart, drivers of some 300 six-seater autorickshaws made a parallel chain, parking their vehicles around the corporation building.

After forming the human chain, people assembled at the main entrance where a meeting was addressed by retired Justice B G Kolse-Patil, Nari Samta Manch leader Vidya Bal, former editor of Maharashtra Herald S D Wagh, Geeta Vir of National Society for Clean Cities, Parshuram Wadekar of RPI, former mayor Ankush Kakade, Janata Dal leader and former Lok Sabha member Sambhajirao Kakade, PPS leader Dilip Umbarkar and president of Krantivir Six Seater Auto Rickshaw Sanghatana leader Badshah Sayyed.

Dharmadhikari appealed to citizens to participate in large numbers at a public meeting at Shaniwar Wada on Thursday evening. The meeting will be addressed by eminent social worker Anna Hazare and Gandhian thinker Balasaheb Bharde.