Maharashtra Bandh LIVE: Commuters Face Harrowing Time as Protesters Block Eastern Express Highway

Protesters Block Mumbai-Goa Highway as Quota Stir Pick Up Pace | Commuters travelling from Panvel on Mumbai-Goa highway face inconvenience as protesters block traffic near Raigad.

Maharashtra Quota Stir in Nahsik, Shops Shut | Shops have been shut in Nashik as protesters gather in Shalimar area and raise slogans near the Ambedkar statue, even as police has been deployed in the area.

Akola Shuts Down Due to Maharashtra Bandh Protests | Protesters agitating for Maratha aarakshan (reservation)  have crippled services in Akola as city's main market, schools and colleges have been completely shut, according to local media. Police have been deployed in Akola, also known as Cotton City.

Clashes in Latur During Maharashtra Bandh | Clashes break out between two groups in Udgir in Latur district of Maharashtra when one group was forcibly trying to get people to shut shops and overturned a vegetable cart while attempting to enforce Maharashtra bandh. Police is on the spot and situation is contained.

Clashes break out between two groups in Udgir in Latur district of Maharashtra when one group was forcibly trying to get people to shut shops and overturned a vegetable cart while attempting to enforce Maharashtra bandh. Police is on the spot and situation is contained pic.twitter.com/uEOqPDx0As

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

Protesters raise slogans against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mulund, while a bus has been halted in Thane. (In pic: Maharashtra bandh protest in Mulund)

Shortage of Ola, Uber Cabs in Mumbai Due to Maharashtra Bandh | Five people have been detained at Parksite police station during Maharashtra bandh. According to a national daily, there is also a shortage of Ola and Uber cabs on road. In most localities residents unable to book any cab on the app as they are unavailable. Those plying have surge price upto 2x.

#MarathaReservation protests: Workers of #MarathaKrantiMorcha block a local train in Thane pic.twitter.com/cotagpKpzp

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

Even as protesters halted trains in Thane during Maharashtra bandh, the Western Railways said that the services have not been affected.

A few protesters stopped the trains on UP fast line at Jogeshwari at 9.16 hrs. However, they were removed from the track & train started at 9.24 hrs. All lines working normal on WR suburban section. #WRUpdates @drmbct

— Western Railway (@WesternRly) July 25, 2018

Maratha Protester, Who Attempted Suicide Yesterday, Dies | A group of Maratha Kranti Morcha workers request Bandra shopkeepers with folded hands to shut their shops. Meanwhile, Jagannath Sonavne, a protester who attempted suicide by consuming poison on Tuesday in Aurangabad's Deogaon Rangari, dies in a hospital. He was a protester in the agitation for reservation for Maratha community in govt jobs and education.

Mumbai: A group of Maratha Kranti Morcha workers request with folded hands, the shopkeepers in Bandra to shut their shops. #MaharashtraBandh pic.twitter.com/zVcHM6b3WV

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

Meanwhile, peaceful protests are being held in Dadar and Chembur. No untoward incident has been reported so far during Maharashtra bandh. Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue.

Tires were set ablaze on Majiwada bridge in Thane. 

#MarathaReservation protests: Tires set ablaze on Majiwada bridge in Thane. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/2sTPFB1zRo

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

Workers of Maratha Kranti Morcha forcibly shut shops on Thane's Gokhale road during Maharashtra Bandh.

#MarathaReservation protests: Workers of #MarathaKrantiMorcha forcibly shut shops on Thane 's Gokhale road pic.twitter.com/Efqoow9sp0

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

At some places, protesters raised slogans against Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Public Works Department Minister Chandrakant Patil for allegedly insulting sentiments of the Maratha community. The suburban railway services on the western, central, harbour and trans-harbour lines were not affected, officials said. Around 70 lakh people travel in local trains daily in the Mumbai region. The Maratha Kranti Morcha, which is spearheading the agitation for reservation in jobs and education, has called for the shutdown in Mumbai and some neighbouring districts today.

Maharashtra Bandh over Maratha Quota Begins | Protesters attacked public buses in Mumbai, and the neighbouring Thane and Navi Mumbai as the bandh called by Maratha outfits over their demand for reservation began this morning. Two BEST buses were attacked by agitators in Kanjurmarg and Bhandup suburbs of Mumbai. In view of the stone-pelting on buses, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) partially suspended its services in those areas and expects to resume it when the situation improves, an official of the transport body said. Protesters also hurled stones at a public transport bus in Wagle Estate area of the neighbouring Thane city. They blocked some areas there, including the key Teen Hath Naka junction, resulting in long queues of vehicles on the road leading to Mumbai. A bus was also attacked in Ghansoli area of Navi Mumbai following which the city transport authority suspended its services in the area, an official said. Agitators gathered at various locations in the Mumbai region and the neighbouring Raigad and Palghar districts.

Maratha Protesters Stop BEST Bus Outside Jogeshwari Station | According to local media, protesters have stopped a BEST bus outside Jogeshwari station. DCP Deepak Deoraj, PRO, Mumbai Police, said that all the necessary deployments have been made in Mumbai. He said, " The situation should be brought under control at the earliest. The CM should invite prominent representatives from the community participating in the protest for talks and start the process of resolving the stand-off. There was never any law and order issue."

Resident, Tweet to Mumbai Police in Case of Inconvenience Due to Maharashtra Bandh | Shops have shut in Thane, while traffic has been resumed. Mumbai police has appealed to the Maratha Kranti Morcha to demonstrate peaceful protests. They have asked residents to inform police or tweet to them in case of any difficulty.

Maratha Kranti Morcha on Maharashtra Bandh | A member of Maratha Kranti Morcha said, "We are not blocking any road. We are carrying out a peaceful protest. We have told our workers that there should be no inconvenience to the police or government due to our protest. We are asking people to shut down their shops.

We are not blocking any road. We are carrying out a peaceful protest. We have told our workers that there should be no inconvenience to the police or govt due to our protest. We are asking people to shut down their shops: Maratha Kranti Morcha #MaharashtraBandh pic.twitter.com/mM38GDTQby

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

Maratha protesters being detained by police in Ghatkopar.

#MarathasGroundMumbai -- Maratha protesters being detained by police in Ghatkopar | ground report: @vinivdvc

Get #LIVE updates here: https://t.co/cSBJbc23PV pic.twitter.com/d5RgjdAsf6

— News18 (@CNNnews18) July 25, 2018

Commission to Take 4 Months to Give Report on Maratha Aarakshan (Reservation) | Even as the Maratha agitation for reservation has intensified in the state, the Backward Class Commission would take at least four more months to give its report on the issue. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held two meetings on Tuesday in Mantralaya to take stock of the schemes meant for the welfare of the community and instructed officials to speed up the process. “The backward class commission is a statutory body and hence we cannot give a time limit to them. But the member secretary informed us that it will take four months to present the report,” Principal Secretary of Social Justice Department, Dinesh Waghmare said.

Mumbai Bandh Today over Maratha Quota Stir | Protesters block traffic in Thane. Security stepped up across the state.

#MarathasGroundMumbai | Mumbai bandh today over Maratha quota stir. Protesters block traffic in Thane. Security stepped up across the state

Get #LIVE updates here: https://t.co/BZUKhU2DBg pic.twitter.com/CFDL4RthhR

— News18 (@CNNnews18) July 25, 2018

It seems that Wednesday's protest has already started turning violent as a Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) bus vandalised in Wagle estate area of Thane during Maratha quota stir.

#MarathaReservation protest: A Thane Municipal Transport(TMT) bus vandalised in Wagle estate area of Thane. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/IzMutlrp4l

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

Vegetable Supply to be Hit in Wake to Maharashtra Bandh | Maharashtra residents could face a harrowing time as vegetable and fruit supply may be hit in wake of Maharashtra bandh. According to local media, a meeting of Maratha outfits was held at Mathadi Bhavan in Vashi this morning where it was decided that vegetable market would remain close today in Navi Mumbai and Panvel, affecting supply of onion, potato, spices and other grains. However, it is said that the fruit market would not be affected.

Chandrakant Khaire 'Manhandled' During Kakasaheb Shinde's Last Rites | Yesterday, Shiv Sena's Lok Sabha member from Aurangabad, Chandrakant Khaire went to Kakasaheb Shinde's native Kaygaon village to attend his last rites. Shinde jumped off a bridge over Godavari River in Aurangabad to demand for Maratha aarakshan (reservation). However, he was allegedly manhandled by some persons present there, a police official said

67 AC Buses Affected Due to Maharashtra Bandh | According to local media, the protesters, who left from Thane to Mumbai to participate in Maratha quota stir, were stopped midway, affecting the traffic in the area. Meanwhile, Municipal Transportation Committee has halted 67 AC buses as a precautionary measure. Other buses are plying as usual.

Police deployed outside Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Mumbai in wake of Maratha quota stir.

#Maharashtra: Police deployed outside BJP office in Mumbai in wake of #MarathaReservation protests pic.twitter.com/3aKKvR7Xkz

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

Bandh Being Observed in Thane's Teen Haath Naka | Thane's Teen Haath Naka While protests have begun in Thane's Teen Haath Naka, internet services were suspended in rural areas of Aurangabad district a day earlier to prevent any untoward incident. At Kaygaon, protesters shouted slogans hailing Shinde as a ‘martyr’. Sham Atgaonkar, a police constable from Osmanabad who was deployed on duty at Kaygaon in Aurangabad, died as the Maratha quota stir turned violent on Tuesday.

#MarathaReservation protest enters day 2: Visuals from Thane's Teen Haath Naka. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/3eaOT1ziUi

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

Sharad Pawar Asks Devendra Fadnavis to Hold Talks With Maratha Outfits | NCP president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to hold talks with representatives of the Maratha outfits to end the ongoing stand-off over the quota demand. In a statement issued here tonight, Pawar lamented that instead of taking the grievances of the community seriously, the chief minister and certain ministers have given provocative statements. Pawar's remarks came on a day the Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) observed a bandh in Maharashtra and called for a shutdown in Mumbai tomorrow. The stir turned violent on Tuesday with incidents of arson and stone-pelting being reported from various parts of the state. "The situation should be brought under control at the earliest. The CM should invite prominent representatives from the community participating in the protest for talks and start the process of resolving the stand off," the NCP chief said, adding that Marathas have so far agitated peacefully to highlight their demands. "There was never any law and order issue," he said.

What Happened During Maratha Quota Stir A Day Earlier | In Nanded, police cane-charged protesters to disperse them. In Pune, ​Maratha Kranti Morcha members took out a rally in Pune. City saw sporadic incidents of stone pelting. Some people threw stones at an administrative building in Baramati and a state transport bus was attacked. Traders kept their shops closed in Deccan, Laxmi Road and Bajirao Road areas of the city. In Yavatmal and Amravat, the bandh received lukewarm response in Yavatmal and Amravati. In Yavatmal, the bandh call was given by the Maratha Mahasangh. In Amravati, activists paid homage to Shinde at Rajkamal Square. They later marched to the Kotwali Police Station and submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. In Nashik district, activists staged a rasta roko on the Mumbai-Agra National Highway. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation suspended its services to Aurangabad from Nashik. Protesters burnt tyres at Sakora in Nandgaon taluka of Nashik, affecting traffic.

Suicide Attempts During Protests | Protester Jagannath Sonawane, 31, from Aurangabad, sought to emulate Kakasaheb Shinde's example by jumping onto a dry river bed, while another, Guddu Sonawane, also from the district, consumed poison.They have been admitted to a hospital, police said. In Thane, activist Mangesh Suryavanshi (38) jumped into a creek near the Ganesh Ghat, but was saved by police and others, Thane Police PRO Sukhada Narkar said. He received minor injuries and was admitted to a hospital.

Vinod Tawde Says Cops, Local Admin to Decide on Shutting of Schools In Wake of Maharashtra Bandh | According to Mumbai-based papers, Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde said that the police and local administration would take the decision on whether schools would remain open, depending on the situation. Police spokesperson Deepak Devraj said that Mumbai Police is prepared to deal with the bandh and the protest. Mumbai's disaster management authorities have stated that they have not received any notification regarding the shutdown, and no special measures have been taken as of yet.

Residents to Face Harrowing Time as Shopkeepers Begin Shutting Shops in Ghatkopar | Protesters have started closing shops in Mumbai's Ghatkopar. The Maratha Kranti Morcha has announced bandh in Mumbai and adjoining areas of Navi Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad to press for their demand of 16% reservation and to protest against the death of Maratha youth Kakasaheb Shinde. Maratha organisations have exempted essential services like hospitals, water supply, ambulance services, fire brigade and also schools and colleges including school buses from the bandh.