Mumbai: With Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil set to begin an indefinite hunger strike on May 30, the Maharashtra government on Friday stepped up efforts to defuse tensions by sending a delegation to meet him at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district.

Senior ministers Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and BJP MLC Prasad Lad held discussions with Jarange and briefed him on measures taken regarding Maratha reservation and the distribution of Kunbi caste certificates.

Vikhe Patil said the government has prepared a standard operating procedure (SOP) to streamline issuance of Kunbi certificates and expedite large-scale distribution. He acknowledged delays due to administrative lapses and said action had been initiated against negligent officials.

He said village-level committees had been formed to create awareness and assist applicants in the certification process. Referring to Hyderabad Gazette records linked to Kunbi documentation, Vikhe Patil said while specific entries were unavailable, numerical records existed.

Jarange has also demanded withdrawal of criminal cases registered against protesters during the Maratha reservation agitation. Vikhe Patil said the government had withdrawn 567 of the 668 cases, while 191 cases remain pending before courts.

“The government is examining what legal steps can be taken regarding the remaining cases,” he said. The minister added that nearly 12 lakh certificates had been processed from around 58 lakh records identified so far.

Meanwhile, a day before the proposed fast, Jarange accused the government of discriminating against the Maratha community and subjecting it to a “cruel trial by fire”.

He reiterated that the agitation would begin at 10 am on Saturday and described it as the “toughest” and most “unprecedented” protest so far. “We will not step back unless every demand is accepted in writing. We are not ready to give the government any more time,” Jarange said. Those appointed to read Persian, Urdu and Modi language documents were not given salaries so they left their jobs after a month, Jarange claimed.

He said Kunbi certificates should be given as quickly as possible along with scholarships to students under the state government’s SARTHI scheme.

Mumbai: Commuters travelling on the Central and Western railways suburban networks are advised to plan their journeys in advance as both the railway zones have announced major maintenance blocks that will affect train operations over the coming days.

Central railways will operate on the mega block on Sunday, May 31, across sections of its Main and Harbour lines to carry out eseential engineering and maintenance work, while western railways will undertake major overnight blocks at Marine Lines stations for the launching of Foot Over Bridge (FOB) girders.

Major Block On Western Railway

Western Railway has announced a major overnight block during the intervening night of May 30 and May 31 at Marine Lines station for the launching of Foot Over Bridge girders using a road crane.

The block will be carried out across all railway lines passing through Marine Lines station and will affect several late-night and early-morning suburban services.

As part of the arrangements, a number of trains bound for Churchgate will be short terminated at Mumbai Central.

Train No. BO91014 departing Borivali at 12.10 am and Train No. VR91018 departing Virar at 11.49 pm will operate only up to Mumbai Central and will remain cancelled between Mumbai Central and Churchgate.

Similarly, Train No. BO91020 departing Borivali at 12.30 am and Train No. VR91024 departing Virar at 12.05 am will also terminate at Mumbai Central.

On the outbound side, Train No. VR90011 and Train No. BO90015, which are scheduled to originate from Churchgate, will instead commence their journeys from Mumbai Central and remain cancelled between Churchgate and Mumbai Central.

Western Railway has also announced the final and first Churchgate services during the block period.

The last train to reach Churchgate before the block will be Train No. VR91012, which departs Virar at 11.30 pm and arrives at Churchgate at 1.10 am.

Following completion of the work, the first scheduled fast service from Churchgate will be Train No. VR90021 departing at 4.40 am, while the first scheduled slow service will be Train No. BO90025 departing at 4.46 am.

Western Railway clarified that no daytime block will be undertaken on Sunday, May 31, and regular suburban operations will continue throughout the day.

Both railway administrations have appealed to passengers to take note of the revised arrangements and cooperate during the maintenance activities, which are being carried out to ensure the safety, reliability and long-term upkeep of railway infrastructure.

Mega Block On Central Railways

According to Central Railways, the mega block will operate on the main line between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Vidhyavihar stations on both UP and Down slow lines from 10.55 am to 3.55 pm on Sunday.

During the block period, Down slow line services departing CSMT between 10.48 am and 3.45 pm will be diverted to the Down fast line between CSMT and Vidhyavihar. These trains will halt at Byculla, Parel, Dadar, Matunga, Sion and Kurla before being diverted back to the slow line at Vidhyavihar.

Similarly, Up and slow lines services leaving Ghatkopar between 10.19 am and 3.52 pm will be diverted via the Up fast line between Vidhyavihar and CSMT. These trains will halt at Kurla, Sion, Matunga, Dadar, Parel and Byculla stations.

As a result of the block, trains will not halt at Masjid, Sandhurst Road, Chinchpokli and Currey Road station on both Up and Down slow corridors during the maintenance period.

A separate mega block will also be undertaken on the Harbour Line between Kurla and Vashi on both Up and Down corridors from 11.10 am to 4.10 pm.

During this period, Harbour Line services heading towards Vashi, Belapur and Panvel departing CSMT between 10.34 am and 3.36 pm will remain suspended. Similarly, services bound for CSMT from Panvel, Belapur and Vashi departing between 10.17 am and 3.47 pm will also remain cancelled.

To reduce inconvenience to passengers, Central Railway will operate special suburban services between CSMT and Kurla as well as between Vashi and Panvel throughout the block period.

In addition, Harbour Line commuters will be permitted to travel via the Trans-Harbour route through Thane, Vashi and Nerul stations between 10 am and 6 pm.

Railway officials stated that the maintenance work is necessary for infrastructure upkeep and operational safety.

The police have registered a case against the miscreants for creating a ruckus and disturbing the environment in Poonam Coaster Society, two cases of interference in the communal and government work. On the other hand, the police have registered a case under the Maharashtra Police Act against 50 to 60 volunteers including Bajrang Dal’s Nagnath Kamble for disturbing the order. In Poonam Coaster, two cases of rioting and one case of assault and injury to a Bajrang Dal volunteer have been registered in this case. The accused has been arrested, while the investigation of the other two cases is underway. All three cases have been registered at Kashi Mira Police Station.

Regarding the above-mentioned cases, tension had arisen due to the tethering of goats in the premises of the Poonam Cluster One building society in Kashmira police station limits. Three crimes have been registered in Kashi Mira police station limits.

A case under Section 118(1), 115(2) of the IPC has been registered at Kashi Mira Police Station. According to the details, at 12.50 pm, on the footpath in front of the cake shop near the gate of Poonam Cluster 01, Mira Road East District Police Station, Poonam Cluster 01 Society Bajrang Dal worker Nath Kamble along with some residents of the society were present here and were talking to Nagnath. An attacker, aged around 40 to 45 years, dressed in a white full-length shirt and blue jeans, tried to stab Nagnath Kamble from behind with a knife. At that time, the plaintiff brought his left hand into the bag to save him. When 16-year-old Karan Jain, who was standing behind the plaintiff, tried to catch her, she punched Karan Jain on the right cheek and then the attacker attacked and fled. In this case, the police have arrested the accused after registering a case. Now, along with this, the police have registered a case under sections 132, 196, 3(5) of the BNS. In this case, the police have arrested Bajrang Dal worker Durgesh Jaiswal, aged 30 to 35 years, 2. Harsh Singh, 22 to 25 years 3. Mohit Chaurasia, aged 35 years, a resident of Mira Bhayander, a 25 to 30-year-old young man wearing a blue half-t-shirt and black pants, long hair, raised religious slogans here. In addition, by bringing the white pig to this location and trying to forcefully take it into the premises of the society, they raised provocative slogans that promoted enmity between classes on the basis of religion and caste, incited hatred, disrupted harmony and disrupted public order, tried to take the pig into the premises of the society, protested against the government and tried to incite violence among Muslims. When the police intervened in this matter, they obstructed the performance of official duties. The police have registered a case in this matter. Similarly, the police have also registered a case against the Bajrang Dal activists who spread unrest here. The police have registered a case under the Maharashtra Police Act against them. They include Bajrang Dal activists Nagnath Kamble aged 50 to 55 years, Rupesh Dubey aged 40 to 45 years, Ankit Mishra aged 25 to 30 years, Rakesh Kotian, Suraj Sahu aged 25 to 30 years, Pawan Thakur, Bhajayal Rashyal, and others aged 50 to 60 years. All of them had created a ruckus in the society here along with destroying the peace of the society and trying to spoil the situation, after which the police took this action. Now peace has been established here but tension also persists.