Maratha Kranti Morcha in Mumbai 2017 LIVE: Police out in force as march begins from Byculla

After a few months of waiting with fear and baited breath, people of Mumbai will finally have to face the biggest silent rally in the form of Maratha Morcha on Wednesday. Lakhs of people from across Maharashtra will likely attend a protest march in Mumbai seeking reservations in jobs, and punishment for accused in the Kopardi case and education for the Maratha community.

• Some extremist elements want to storm Mantralaya
  ​
  While the protest has been silent and calm so far, IBN Lokmat sources say there are some elements in the group proceeded towards the Vidhan Sabha. However, the police have brought situation under control. It is also to be noted that senior officers like Deven Bharti are on the field to stop any untoward incident. 
• 10:46 (IST)
  Children of farmers lend support 
  Children of farmers who committed suicide have come to Mumbai to support the silent march. 
  Image courtesy: IBN Lokmat
  
• 10:42 (IST)
  Ashish Shelar manhandled 
  Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar was allegedly manhandled by protesters at Azaad Maidan in Mumbai. According to reports, this incident happened when the BJP leader was at the spot for lending his support for the morcha. However, the protesters stopped him from entering and told him to come only after the community gets reservation. 
• 10:31 (IST)
  Colour and hues of the silent march 
  Image courtesy: IBN Lokmat
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• 10:28 (IST)
  Mumbai morcha is one of the largest in city 
  Until 10 am, there are more than 10,000 people who have come so far for the morcha. There is also a huge deployment of police force. While protesters are pouring in from various parts of Maharashtra, there is also a huge section of them who have camped at Azaad Maidan, the last stip for all protesters. The overall turnout may break the record set by gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli, whose rally had attracted about one lakh people. 
• 10:19 (IST)
  Traffic issues across Mumbai
  While traffic extremely slow on the Western Express Highway, while traffic has been blocked in several parts of the Eastern Freeway. JJ Flyover has been closed in view of the morcha today. 
• 10:13 (IST)
  Sunil Tatkare urges govt to be proactive
  Speaking to IBN Lokmat, NCP leader Sunil Tatkare says that the Devendra Fadnavis government must be proactive in addressing the demands of the Maratha community. He also acknowledged the help received by the Maratha community from the OBC and Muslim community in Maharashtra. 
• 09:56 (IST)
  Firstpost reports from the epicentre of the protest
• 09:45 (IST)
  Joint CP Deven Bharti at Byculla Station overseeing security arrangements
  Video courtesy: IBN Lokmat
• 09:43 (IST)
  Dabbawalas to back protest
  The lifeline of several office-goers in Mumbai, the dabbawalas have decided to not work on Wednesday and support the Maratha morcha. Around 5,000 dabbawalas are expected to go to Azaad Maidan to voice their support, media reports said. 
• 09:42 (IST)
  Maratha morcha gets support from unexpected quarters
  Not just in India, but the Maratha morcha demanding reservation is also resonating in neighbouring Pakistan. A group of Marathas, who settled in Balochistan after being defeated in the battle of Panipat, have backed the protest. 
  “Chief Maratha Qaumi Itehad fully supports this protest. In India, the  community is facing injustice. I condemn it strictly. Reservation in government jobs and education should be given to the Maratha community, which is its national right. Disfavour with the community will not be tolerated. We are with it in every protest,” Wadera Din Muhammad, chief of Maratha Qaumi Ittehad, Pakistan said in a Facebook post. 
• 09:33 (IST)
  Check out the traffic arrangements by Mumbai Police
• 09:31 (IST)
  APMC market in Navi Mumbai sees huge Maratha gathering
  Image courtesy: IBN Lokmat 
  
• 09:28 (IST)
  Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi backs protest
• 09:23 (IST)
  Maratha activists outside Byculla station
  Image courtesy: Parag Shinde
  
• 09:12 (IST)
  Western line trains are crowded too
  Video courtesy: IBN Lokmat
• 09:05 (IST)
  Traffic between King's Circle and CST closed; No toll today 
  Traffic between King's Circle to CST has been closed as precaution ahead of the Maratha Kranti Morcha. On the other hand, the MSRDC minister Eknath Shinde has also decided that that the there will no toll taken at the five toll nakas across Mumbai today. 
• 08:57 (IST)
  Central Railway to run extra trains 
  Extra general coach will be attached to seven long-distance trains and there will be an additional ticket window for issuing tickets, Sunil Udasi, PRO. Central Railway said.
  "We have two rakes in stand-by mode. If required, we will run them as special trains from CSMT (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Mumbai Terminus) to Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus (Kolhapur) via Manmad and Karjat routes", he said.
  PTI
• 08:45 (IST)
  First train from Belapur to CST is overcrowded
  Video courtesy: IBN Lokmat
• 08:38 (IST)
  Trains overcrowded 
  Image courtesy: IBN Lokmat
  
• 08:34 (IST)
  
• 08:33 (IST)
  Arrangements made for Maratha activists coming to Mumbai
  There are refreshments available for the activists who are pouring in from various parts of the city. Also there are makeshift washrooms for the activists at Thane Toll Naka. Here are few images which were clicked around 7.30 am. 
  Image courtesy: Parag Shinde
  
• 08:32 (IST)
  
• 08:25 (IST)
  This is outside the BMC office at 7.30 am
  
• 08:05 (IST)
  Sambhaji Raje backs protest
  Speaking to IBN Lokmat, the leader of the Maratha morcha, Rajya Sabha MP and scion of the Kolhapur royal family Sambhaji Raje said, " It is important to know what is the end result? What is the output from the protest? This is important to know. In 2014, I brought all leaders of community together for this cause. Next step is that we need reservation. My voice is for "jan jagruti" and like Chhatrapati Shahu helped the lower castes, I feel we must help Marathas too."
• 07:52 (IST)
  Largest congregation of Maratha protestors in Mumbai today
  While more than five lakh Marathas will be gathering at Azad Maidan for the 58th and the probably the last "mukh morcha" (silent march) to ask for reservation for the community. The silent March will start at 11 am and end at 5 pm
• 06:54 (IST)

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Map of the Maratha morcha rally route.

This will be the 58th — and the largest — protest march of the Maratha community, exactly a year after the first march was held in Aurangabad. So far, 57 protests, in the form of 'mook morcha' (silent rallies), have been held in various parts of the state following the brutal rape and murder of a 14-year-old Maratha girl in Kopardi in Ahmednagar district in July 2016. The other demands of the community include Amendment in SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act) to stop its misuse, loan waiver to curb farmer suicides, and remunerative prices for agricultural produce.

The morcha The morcha has been organised by the Sakal Maratha Samaj, an umbrella organisation of several Maratha groups and will begin at 11 am from the BMC's Jijamata Udyan and culminate at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, the organisers said.

However, with more than five lakh members of Maratha community and an additional 10,000 vehicles likely to enter Mumbai from cities like Pune, Nashik, Kolhapur, Raigad, and Satara, the silent March is expected to cripple the city's traffic mostly during the peak hours. Therefore, to facilitate a smooth flow of vehicles, the Mumbai Traffic Police has decided to close certain roads and install diversions between Byculla and Mumbai Central to CST and Churchgate.

Seeing the size of the Maratha community that is expected to take part in the Maratha Kranti Morcha on Wednesday, the Mumbai Police, Traffic Police, BMC, Fire Brigade and intelligence units from state and Centre and other agencies held a final meeting on Tuesday to prevent any untoward incident.