Maratha quota protests: 46 MSRTC bus depots shut; transport body suffers losses worth Rs 13.25 cr

File pic/Satej Shinde

At least 46 out of 250 bus depots of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation have been completely shut due to protests over reservation for the Maratha community, and the MSRTC has suffered losses worth Rs 13.25 crore over the last few days, an official said.

A PTI report said that the bus operations in Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Parbhani, Hingoli, Jalna, Nanded and Dharashiv districts have been badly hit by the protests.

As many as 20 buses were torched and 19 were damaged amid the protests over the last few days, he said.

The MSRTC has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 5.25 crore due to damages to the buses and lost Rs 8 crore in ticket sales due to protests in various parts of the state, the official said.

The MSRTC is one of the biggest public transport bodies in the country, with more than 15,000 buses in its fleet. It ferries around 60 lakh passengers every day.

In the meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis on Monday tendered an apology on behalf of the government for the police action in Jalna against Maratha protesters demanding quota and dismissed the Opposition's allegation that the Mantralaya ordered the lathi charge.

The statement came at a media conference addressed jointly by Fadnavis, CM Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Monday after they met to resolve the issue. Shinde announced the suspension of the sub-divisional police officer who is understood to have given the orders to use force. The district police chief was sent on compulsory leave on Sunday. Additional Director General of Police Sanjay Saxena has been asked to probe the incident.

Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Uddhav Thackeray responded by demanding the resignation of the ruling government's three main leaders.

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"If you prove that any of us gave the orders to use force, we will quit politics," Ajit challenged the Opposition. His resolve was endorsed by Fadnavis and Shinde even as the protesters, including their leader Manoj Jarange Patil, continued their fast, demanding a final declaration from the government.

Leaders from the Opposition including Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Nana Patole, Vijay Wadettiwar, Ambadas Danve and Raj Thackeray visited Antarwali Sarati, a small town near Ambad, to show solidarity with Marathas. Leaders from the ruling party - Udayaraje Bhosale and Girish Mahajan - were among the government representatives who tried to convince Jarange to end his fast. Following police action, some districts observed a bandh on Monday.

The trio appealed to the protesters not to fall for the politicisation of the protest and promised to expedite securing a Maratha quota, that had been scrapped by the apex court. Till such time that the quota gets approved, Maratha students would continue to get facilities that are now available to their Other Backward Class (OBC) counterparts, said CM Shinde.