Mumbai: The whirlwind of the ongoing Maratha reservation morcha that had enveloped South Mumbai Friday abated slightly Saturday, the second day of activist Manoj Jarange-led influx of 30,000 agitators from the state.Even as the villagers settled, bathing and cooking in the streets near their protest site at Azad Maidan, surrounding roads were partially opened for traffic.Crawford Market was near deserted in the earlier part of the day but began to witness weekend footfalls by evening. Restaurants were functional and J J Flyover was open for motorists. Few private vehicles or taxis plied on D N Road, till city police headquarters. Beyond that traffic was normal.At Azad Maidan, agitators bathed from two parked water tankers. Others were cooking on the footpath, kneading dough, boiling rice, cutting vegetables or pouring oil in the utensils while preparing lunch for their colleagues. Outside Azad Maidan, food was being distributed from a truck.Carnac Bundar bridge near Masjid station, which most protesters used to enter south Mumbai on Friday, was free of congestion. Intermittently youths chanted slogans, waved flags, beat drums and danced on the streets and inside CSMT station too.Thousands of activists, including some from the Muslim community, remained around Azad Maidan. Zuber Inamdar along with eight community members had joined from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. He said, “We support reservation for the Maratha community who are like our elder brothers. We will not leave till we get a positive assurance from the govt.”Meanwhile, groups of protesters fanned out across South Mumbai, exploring stores and art galleries in Kala Ghoda, shopping in Churchgate and Fashion Street. They were firm that they would not leave the city until their demands for reservation were met.There were fewer traffic disruptions. Protesters intermittently blocked roads at CST Junction despite police presence. Diversions will continue Sunday. Eastern Freeway and Coastal Road were largely unaffected—a minor disruption at 11am was cleared. Traffic police advised motorists to avoid CSMT, P D’Mello Road and the Freeway. A senior officer told TOI: “Compared to Friday, traffic flow was better on Saturday except for South Mumbai.“Around 1,200 traffic police officers have been deployed in South Mumbai, Freeway and Coastal Road.Political parties and NGOs arrived to distribute food packets and water. Shiv Sena UBT functionary Santosh Shinde from South Mumbai distributed food and ration kits on Thursday and Friday. “We distributed dinner, water and biscuits as well as 5,000 vada pavs,” he said. MP Sanjay Jadhav was present too.Stung by Jarange’s criticism that the authorities were withholding basic necessities like drinking water and toilets, the BMC Saturday listed the facilities it had provided at Azad Maidan. The entry path was paved with gravel, high intensity electric lights were installed, 12 water tankers supplied drinking water and 500 sanitation personnel kept up continuous cleaning activity. A medical aid centre, four medical teams were deployed and two ambulances were operational 24/7.Pay and use lavatories as well as other public toilets near Azad Maidan were made available free of cost. Toilets with a total 29 seats inside the ground were free of charge. Insecticide fumigation was undertaken too. The BMC clarified it had not closed any eateries or halted drinking water supply.Crawford Market wore a deserted look on Saturday, as ongoing protests brought business to a near standstill. “On weekends, it’s usually so crowded that people can’t even stand without getting pushed,” said a shopkeeper.By peak hour at 5pm, the market saw more uniformed police and protesters than customers. Imtiyaz Sheikh, who runs a dry fruit store in the market, said the impact was devastating. “There are 450 shops here, and not even five people in front of each. In fact, there are more staff in the shops than there are customers.”Restaurants in the area continued with lukewarm business while tea shops and other stalls on the street opposite the J J School of Architecture did fantastic business supplying bread, milk, to the protestors. The Maharashtra Tum Tum Cha stall has become a popular tea spot on the street for protestors and police alike.Curious sights unfolded as groups of protesters began exploring South Mumbai, sightseeing and window shopping. Some purchased clothes from roadside stalls near Churchgate Station as their garments had got wet.Groups arrived to browse stores and art galleries in Kala Ghoda. An employee.of a marquee store said they had been visiting since Friday. “They look around, take pictures and leave. They haven’t created a problem,” he said. As a precaution the management deployed 10 security guards and alerted police, who stationed themselves outside the entrance.The protesters meanwhile were enjoying their weekend outing. A contingent from Beed claimed there was no room for them at Azad Maidan, where only 5,000 protesters were permitted to gather. Vijay Zodge, 34, from Chousala said 200 fellow villagers had arrived in the city. “Those of us who can’t attend the Azad Maidan protest are exploring Gateway of India and malls in Vashi and Kurla.”Other villagers were resting, bathing or cooking in the streets, and drying clothes on the gates or grilles of corporate and govt offices. Rajendra Shinde, who came from Beed with 40 others in a pickup truck, said, “We parked our vehicle at Navi Mumbai and came to Azad Maidan. The lack of toilets is forcing us to use open areas.” His peer Datta Shinde, added, “The govt is denying us basic facilities, but it will not deter us. We called our friends in the village and asked them to join us with food and water stocks.”In Navi Mumbai, visiting agitators from Marathwada, Vidarbha, Satara, Sangli, Pune, Solapur, Kolhapur and Junnar were given shelter and essential facilities for the second consecutive day at Cidco Exhibition Centre in Vashi and APMC market yard. The administration permitted parking around Vashi railway station to accommodate protesters travelling daily to Azad Maidan by train.
