Officials said on Thursday that more than 1,500 Mumbai police personnel have been deployed at Azad Maidan in South Mumbai to maintain law and order in view of the movement of Maratha Kota activist Manoj Jarang.
Senior police officers including Police Commissioner (Law and Order) visited the protest site in the evening and took stock of the security arrangements.
Jarang, 43, has announced that he will launch an indefinite fast at Azad Maidan from August 29. He along with thousands of supporters left his original Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district on 26 August. On Thursday morning, he reached the Shivneri Fort, the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and later proceeded.
He is demanding that all Marathas be recognized as Kunbis – an agricultural caste is included in other backward classes (OBC) category – which will make them eligible for reservation in government jobs and education.
In view of the protest, the police have made security arrangements at Azad Maidan. An official said more than 20,000 protesters are expected in South Mumbai.
He said that apart from local police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Rapid Action Force (RAF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) are also deployed in the protest site and its surrounding areas to avoid any untoward incident.
The official said that some units of central forces currently posted in Mumbai have been killed to provide security during the ongoing Ganesh festival for protest against Maratha Kota.
Another official said that in view of a large number of protesters at Azad Maidan, the police have denied permission to three other organizations who sought permission to protest on the ground on Friday (August 29).
Azad Maidan is considered a designated place in South Mumbai to protest, march or rallies.
As the site can accommodate only 5,000 agitators at a time, the police have denied other organizations to protest on the same day, he said.
He said that some organizations have supported the Maratha Kota movement, and the police have been given letters accordingly.
Even as the protest is going to start from Friday, the people of the entire state have started reaching Azad Maidan. The police have allowed Gerange to staged their movement for only one day and reduced the number of protesters at 5,000.
Jarang and his supporters will reach Navi Mumbai late on Thursday night.
The official said the Navi Mumbai Police has banned the movement of vehicles on some roads of the city to avoid any inconvenience due to the movement of vehicles by protesters, keeping in mind the traffic congestion on the Mumbai-Puran Expressway and the Sion-Panawell Highway due to the convoy of Zrenge.
