Marathwada on boil

Mumbai: Emboldened by his fiery stance, local coordination committees issued an ultimatum to the administration, declaring a complete Marathwada Bandh for Thursday, with voluntary shut-downs already paralyzing towns across Latur, Nanded, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. While essential services are expected to function, wholesale agricultural markets, commercial centres, government establishments, and educational institutions face forced closures. In dozens of ham-lets across Marathwada, villagers erected banners banning politicians from entering, declaring a complete boycott of elected leaders until statutory reservation is codified.

Faced with escalating turmoil, the state machinery initiated high-level consultations to defuse the standoff. The Cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation met in Mumbai before key minis-ters travelled to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, attempting to open negotiation channels with Antarwali Sarati. Administrative emissaries and local legislators were sent to the protest site to persuade Jarange to accept medical aid, assuring him that administrative hurdles were being dismantled.

Speaking to reporters, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Chairman of the Cabinet sub-committee, em-phasized that the administration was actively awaiting a breakthrough. “We are waiting for their response. We shall immediately go to Antarwali Sarati if they indicate possibility of discussion over the draft,” he said. The minister further explained that as per demands the authorities had already furnished a pen drive containing 58 lakh Kunbi caste records to the agitators, noting that the procedure to grant certificates based on the historical Hyderabad Gazetteer has com-menced, with 3,300 certificates already distributed. Vikhe-Patil also gave assurances that dedi-cated divisional camps would soon be set up across Maharashtra to expedite all pending applica-tions.

Simultaneously, the Chief Minister reiterated the state’s commitment to an equitable resolution while appealing for restraint. “We appeal to Manoj Jarange Patil to prioritize his health and coop-erate with medical teams. Street violence and blocking highways will only cause hardship to or-dinary citizens, farmers, and students. Dialogue remains the only viable path to an enduring solu-tion,” he said.

Despite these administrative assurances, the rift between the agitators’ demand for an immedi-ate blanket notification and the government’s procedural constraints remains wide. With youth staging relay fasts outside district collectorates and activists threatening an en masse march to Mumbai, Maharashtra stands on a delicate precipice as law enforcement braces for Thursday’s region-wide shutdown.

Addressing the swelling crowds at his protest marquee on Wednesday afternoon, Jarange issued an unsparing warning to the government. “The government has tested our patience enough. We are not sitting here to beg for char-ity; we are demanding our constitutional right that was denied for generations,” Jarange told the gathering. “If a sin-gle drop of blood is spilt or if anything happens to my life, the government alone will bear the responsibility for the fury that follows across Maharashtra. We will not take a single step backward until the notification is in our hands.”