Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar calls off Maharashtra bandh

Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh leader and BR Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar has withdrawn the state-wide bandh after normal life was badly affected in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra on Wednesday.




Dalit groups had called for a complete shutdown in the state in protest against the violent clashes that broke out during the Bhima Koregaon battle anniversary in Pune on Monday.

Dalit protesters take part in a bike rally on the Eastern Express Highway in Thane, Mumbai on Wednesday after Bhima Koregaon violence. (PTI Photo)

"The bandh was mostly peaceful barring two incidents in Mumbai and one in Aurangabad. I want to congratulate the protestors as they kept their calm even at a time when the emotions were very high. Police is taking combing operations in Aurangabad and that they should stop immediately," said Ambedkar.

"People are extremely hurt at the communal tensions in the state the contributions of the marginalized community towards nation building are being questioned today," he added.

Ambedkar also demanded that police arrest Bhide Guruji and Milind Ekbote for inciting mobs against people who had gathered at Bhima Koregaon on January 1.

Marathwada region continued to reel under tension on Wednesday in a sequel to the January 1 Koregaon-Bhima incident.

Daily life in Mumbai was disrupted as protesters attacked city buses, stopped suburban local services and blocked roads at various places in the city. Dalits began protests in suburban Chembur, Ghatkopar, Kamraj Nagar, Vikhroli, Dindoshi, Kandivali, Jogeshwari, Kalanagar and Mahim, police said.

RPI activists, amid teargas, pelting stones at the police during their violent protest in Aurangabad on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)



The bandh prompted a near-total response in Marathwada, punctuated by sporadic violence, with transport and establishments being mostly shut, and people keeping indoors. Police sources said that the bandh was near total in almost entire region even as police teams continued to be on their toes rushing from one place to the other following reports of stone pelting from sensitive areas.

In Pune, Dalit groups took out morchas in some parts of the city. The demonstrators blocked the Pune-Solapur highway at Loni Kalbhor, and also some of the city’s main roads like Fergusson College Road and Jangli Maharaj Road, albeit for a short while. The Pune-Mumbai Expressway was blocked for a short while at the Urse toll plaza.

Dalit protesters burn a bike at Vikroli in Mumbai on Wednesday during a protest over Bhima Koregaon violence. (PTI Photo)


On the Western Railway, protesters obstructed services at Nallasopara Station. Thirteen buses of the civic transport service 'BEST' were damaged by protesters in Kalanagar area (Bandra), Dharavi, Kamraj Nagar, Santosh Nagar, Dindoshi and Hanuman Nagar, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said. The agitation of Dalit outfits halted suburban local train service at Ghatkopar as trains heading towards CSMT were affected.

Several local trains running towards CSMT were halted at various stations because of the protesters who stood on the tracks prohibiting any train movement.

Mumbai's 'Dabbawalas' chose not to provide their services today. A spokesperson of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association said, "Since most of our customers may find it difficult to reach office, we have decided to suspend our services today".