Latur: Maratha Community's Bandh In Support of Jarange Evokes Strong Response

Latur: The Maratha community's bandh in support of activist Manoj Jarange' ongoing protest received a "strong" response across Latur district on Thursday, with Latur city observing a largely peaceful and silent shutdown while Ausa and Nilanga witnessed protests by community members. In Latur city, schools and colleges remained closed after members of the Maratha community called for a bandh. Several shops and commercial establishments also remained shut, giving the city a subdued look.

The bandh was observed in solidarity with Jarange Patil's hunger strike. Jarange began his latest indefinite hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district on August 29, demanding reservation for the Marathas and immediate issuance of Kunbi certificates on the basis of gazette records, among other things. He has also threatened to take the agitation to Mumbai.

"The bandh received a strong response in Latur and other parts of the district," a member of the Maratha community said.

In Ausa, tension prevailed after members of the Maratha community climbed atop a water tank and staged a protest for around two-and-a-half hours. The protesters raised slogans in support of Jarange and demanded that the government take immediate steps to address their demands.

The protesters had sought to meet the Ausa tehsildar and submit their demands to the administration. They eventually climbed down from the water tank around 2 pm following the intervention of police.

The agitation also received support from local traders, with markets, shops and other commercial establishments in Ausa remaining closed. Protesters additionally staged a 'rasta roko' protest at Ausa Mode, affecting the movement of traffic for some time.

According to employees at the tehsil office, the Ausa tehsildar had gone to Latur to attend a meeting and was therefore unavailable. The protesters, however, alleged that the administration was avoiding their delegation and attempting to suppress the community's voice.

The protesters demanded immediate administrative intervention and warned that the agitation could be intensified if the government failed to respond to their demands.

In Nilanga, traders also extended their support to Jarange's hunger strike by keeping shops and commercial establishments closed. Members of the Maratha community staged a 'rasta roko', disrupting traffic movement for some time. Supporters staged a road blockade (Rasta Roko) protest on the Karad-Chiplun Highway, Dhule–Solapur National Highway and the Tuljapur–Hyderabad National Highway. Strong support is pouring in for Jarange's protest from across Dharashiv, Parbhani, Latur, and Beed districts.

Meanwhile,  A protester who travelled to Maharashtra's Jalna district to support activist Manoj Jarange's agitation for Maratha reservation died due to a suspected heart attack on Thursday, officials said.The exact cause of death will be confirmed after a post-mortem examination, Dr Swapnil Patil from a government hospital in Ambad said.

Dashrath Raikar, a resident of Sangam in Beed district, about 100 km from Jalna, had come to Antarwali Sarati village, where Jarange is staging his hunger strike for six days now, to extend his support to the agitation, a supporter of the quota activist said.

On Wednesday night, Raikar slept in a parking area on a farmland near the protest site. On Thursday morning, fellow protesters noticed he had not woken up for a long time and rushed him to a hospital in Ambad, where doctors declared him dead, he said.

The body was shifted to the Sub-District Hospital, Ambad, for a post-mortem examination. Raikar is suspected to have suffered a heart attack, but the exact cause of death will be known after the autopsy report, doctors said.