Forum favouring merger calls for Kolhapur bandh today

Kolhapur: The all-party forum supporting the merger has called a city-wide bandh on Thursday to protest against the decision of the state government to withhold the notification.
City mayor Ashwini Ramane had called the meeting of the members of the pro-merger committee to discuss the events unfolding in Mumbai. "The merger issue is pending since last four decades.The merger will be a win-win situation for both, the KMC and the villages. I appeal to the citizens to observe bandh on Thursday," Ramane said.
R K Powar, convener of the forum, said, "The state government has let us down by succumbing to the pressure of the MLAs. We are demanding merger since last 40 years and it is a natural process. The city is facing several issues owing to the urbanisation and merger is the only solution."
The members of the committee vented anger against the MLAs opposing the merger. The forum has appealed the citizens to gather at Shivaji Chowk on Thursday morning from where a rally will be carried out. The members of the forum condemned three MLA's-Chandradip Narke, Sujit Minchekar and Amal Mahadik and appreciated the efforts taken by district guardian minister Chandrakant Patil and Kshirsagar.
"The villagers claim that the KMC is not capable of governing the city. We believe that the burden over the civic infrastructure is due to the villagers coming to the city every day for various purposes. There are pluses and minuses on both sides, however it is unfortunate that the natural growth of the city is being halted for petty reasons," said Rajesh Latkar, NCP city president said.