Traders and commission agents operating in Gultekdi Market Yard have chosen to suspend trade tomorrow (November 1) in solidarity with the ongoing Maratha reservation agitation. Additionally, the workers' union of the market has joined in to support the cause, calling for a day-long strike on the same day.
The association of traders and commission agents at the Market Yard on Monday issued a statement announcing their decision to back Manoj Jarange's ongoing fast in Jalna. Consequently, all trade activities at the Market Yard will remain suspended tomorrow, and farmers have been requested not to bring their produce to the market.
In a display of solidarity, the Market Yard workers' union has unanimously decided to support this choice. Furthermore, traders and commission agents from the market will actively participate in a cyclic fast at Gate No. 1 of the market.
Pro-Maratha quota protesters burn tyres
Pro-Maratha quota protesters on Tuesday blocked the Pune-Bengaluru Highway and burnt tyres to press for the demand for reservation, police said.
Members of the Maratha community have been staging protests in different parts of the state seeking reservation in government jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
"A group of protesters blocked the road at Navale bridge on the Pune-Bengaluru Highway this afternoon, shouted slogans and set seven to eight tyres on fire," an official from Sinhgad Road police station said.
The movement of vehicles was initially stopped in both lanes and was partially restored later, he said.
The police, meanwhile, have beefed up security outside the houses and offices of politicians belonging to the Maratha community in Pune.
