Maratha quota stir: Agitators set tyres ablaze on Latur-Solapur highway, block traffic for eight hrs

Members of Maratha Kranti Morcha MKM on Wednesday blocked the Latur-Solapur highway in Maharashtra by setting tyres on fire for the Maratha quota demand, disrupting traffic in both directions. Separately, lawyers belonging to the Maratha community took out a rally in Latur city.

Members of Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) on Wednesday blocked the Latur-Solapur highway in Maharashtra by setting tyres on fire for the Maratha quota demand, disrupting traffic in both directions. Except for emergency services like ambulances and school buses, no vehicle was allowed to ply on the highway from 10 AM to 6 PM, officials said. Separately, lawyers belonging to the Maratha community took out a rally in Latur city. A hunger strike was also observed. They claimed that Marathas are Kunbis as per the records dating back to the pre-Independence period and the Nizam era, which makes them eligible to get the reservation under the OBC category. In Nagzari village, thousands of farmers, including women, took out a morcha with bullock carts and tractors. The rally covered a distance of 20 km before culminating at the district collectorate, where a memorandum was submitted to the district collector. In Katgaon village, members of the Maratha community organized a symbolic funeral procession and raised slogans against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnvis and Ajit Pawar.