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Maratha quotas: Fresh violence rocks Maharashtra, one more suicide

Maratha quotas: Fresh violence rocks Maharashtra, one more suicide

Maratha quotas: Fresh violence rocks Maharashtra, one more suicideMumbai : Maharashtra remained on the boil over the demands for Maratha reservation with fresh violence – arson, roadblocks, attacks on police – and shutdowns rocked several parts of the state on Monday while one person committed suicide by jumping under a running train.

Large areas of Chakan in Pune and its surroundings, Osmanabad, Solapur, Kolhapur, Nandurbar and Aurangabad witnessed sporadic incidents of arson, violence, road blocks and noisy processions on foot and on motorcyles, with prohibitory orders clamped in many police station areas.

In Aurangabad, Pramod Hore Patil committed suicide by jumping in front of a running train after posting his intention on Facebook.

He ended his life sometime on Sunday, but his body was recovered on Monday near Mukundwadi railway station, resulting in a shutdown in parts of the district. This is the third quota-related suicide in the violence-hit state in the past one week.

The main opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party convened urgent separate meetings of all their legislators to discuss the crises arising out of the continuing violence.

Later, delegations from both parties independently met Governor C.V. Rao and Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) officials on the issue.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, of the Congress, told media persons that the MSBCC would take around three months to complete its ongoing survey on the economic backwardness of the Maratha community.

Leader of Opposition in the Council Dhananjay Munde, of the NCP, said the party has also written to Governor seeking his urgent intervention to resolve the quota crisis.

During the day, over two dozen vehicles, including five state transport buses were torched or damaged as the Maratha agiation took a violent turn in Pune district’s Chakan, Hinjewadi, Khed and the Pune-Nashik Highway today.

Angry protestors targeted the Chakan Police Station and in the resultant violence at least five policemen were injured, elsewhere in the town, three persons were hurt in stone-pelting incidents.

Police retaliated by firing teargas shells to quell the protestors and clamped prohibitory orders, while a total shutdown was observed in Chakan and other towns as all political parties appealed to the Maratha leaders for peace and restraint.

ST buses were also targeted in Solapur’s Pandharpur pilgrim centre and adjourning Kolhapur since midnight on Sunday-Monday, forcing a precautionary suspension of all ST services for the day as roads were blocked by squatting activists and burning tyres.

Activists attempted to set afire some vehicles and ST buses in Nandurbar but were thwarted by police though some parts observed a shutdown.

The Shiv Sena is likely to back the Bharatiya Janata Party on this specific issue and has urged the government to announce the quotas without waiting for the MSBCC report, or disturbing the existing reservations.

“Do anything but declare the Marathas quota immediately… Convene the special legislature session urgently, submit a proposal for constitutional amendments to the centre and resolve the crisis as the state continues to suffer,” Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray told media persons.

Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar has flayed the undue delays on the part of the government in announcing the quotas and demanded they do so without further delays.

Many Congress legislators have offered to resign en masse on the emotive issue but will await the final decision of the party high command, party sources said this evening.

So far, at least eight legislators from various parties including Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena and BJP have quit or offered to quit their posts for Maratha reservations.

Maratha Kranti Morcha convenor Vinod Patil demanded that the government must announce a time-bound programme to implement Maratha quotas by Tuesday (July 31), failing which the stir would be intensified from August 1.

Similarly, the Dhangars community has also demanded their share of quotas by September 1 or warned the authorities of an agitation.

—IANS

Telangana sportstars come forward to help farmers’ families

Telangana sportstars come forward to help farmers’ families

Charminar HyderabadHyderabad:(IANS) Leading sportspersons from Telangana have come forward to help families of farmers who have committed suicide due to debt burden and crop failure.

Responding to an appeal by the state government to all sections of the society to come to the rescue of farmers’ families, tennis ace Sania Mirza, top shuttler Jwala Gutta and cricketer Pragyan Ojha on Sunday declared their support.

As Saniais in China to play in a tournament, her mother Naseema Mirza presented a cheque of Rs.3 lakh to MP K. Kavita, daughter of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

“Agriculture and farmers are core of our country. Whatever crisis the state is facing be it farmers’s suicides or an earthquake, we have to come forward to help the people,” said Naseema.

Sania is the brand ambassador of the newly-created state.

Jwala, who presented a cheque of Rs.1 lakh, said it was the duty of every citizen whether they are celebrities or a common people to come forward to help the farmers. “We need to come forward and do whatever we can,” she said.

Ojha said since farmers are backbone of the country, he decided to join the effort without second thought. He assured all support to the effort to help the families of farmers.

Kavita, who is also heading cultural organisation Telangana Jagruthi, said the NRIs wing and others had come forward to adopt 70 families of the farmers. She said the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government was doing everything possible to help the farmers but it was the responsibility of every section of the society to contribute.

She said the organisation would take care of the widows and children of the farmers.

The state cabinet on Friday decided to hike compensation for farmer suicide deaths from Rs.1.5 lakh to Rs 6.lakh. Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari announced that the hiked compensation would come into effect from September 19.

The government said 430 farmers committed suicide in the last one year of which 141 have been found eligible for compensation in accordance with the government’s criteria. Opposition parties however claimed that over 1,000 farmers killed themselves in the same period.