PIL seeks quota for ‘dhangar’ community

Mumbai: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Bom-bay High Court has sought a direction to the Maharashtra government to provide reservation for Dhangar  commu-nity. The PIL, filed by a political activist Hemant Patil last week, is expected to come up for hearing this week. The Dhangar community is socially, educationally, economically and politically backward in the state. Traditionally, members of this community have been shepherds and thrived in the sale of wool etc. for their livelihood, said the petition. The petition said that there have been protests all over the state for providing reservation by including the Dhangar community in the ST category. The petitioner, who is head of a local political outfit Desh Bachao Party, said that recently the state had announced 16 per cent reservation for Marathas and 5 per cent for Muslims. However, Dhangar community has been excluded.