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Maharashtra in fire-fighting mode

8 Sep 2009,

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Monday launched a major fire-fighting exercise to contain communal riots in Western

Maharashtra.

After imposing curfew in three towns in the region, the state administration detained several leaders from the saffron camp, including senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde, as they tried to reach communally tense towns of Sangli and Miraj.

These cities have been under curfew for the past two days. The neighbouring textile town of Ichalkaranji too has been brought under curfew after incidences of arson and assaults were reported on Monday evening.

The trouble started on September 3, when some pro-Hindutva organisations tried to raise an arch on the immersion procession route depicting the killing of Afzal Khan, the Mughal Sardar in the court of Aurangzeb, by the Maratha king Shivaji. A section of the society objected to it following which communal clashes broke out in the area. In protest, Ganesh mandals did not immerse the idols.

The organisers allegedly also held a “victory rally” near the arch, depicting all the followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji in saffron and Afzal Khan supporters in green.

Sensing trouble, local police summoned about two dozen important Muslim community leaders and requested them to ignore the developments. “But, as it always happens, some miscreants exploited the situation to give it a communal twist especially in view of the recently-concluded Ganesh Utsav festival, the ongoing Ramzan month and the ensuing assembly elections,” Shendgle said.

Worried about the communal flare up, the district administration imposed curfew on Sunday. Sangli Superintendent of Police (SP) Krishna Prakash said the curfew will be in force till 2 pm on Tuesday. About 300 people from both communities have been arrested, the police said.

On Monday, Shiv Sena leaders Neelam Gorhe, Diwakar Raote and Parshuram Uparkar were arrested for allegedly flouting curfew orders. The police had, on Sunday, prevented BJP legislators Prakash Shendge and Madhu Chavan from entering Sangli. In Mumbai, police detained senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde at the airport before he could board a flight to Kolhapur. Mr Munde made the best of the opportunity by launching a sit-in at the airport. Surrounded by hundreds of BJP supporters, the agitation created a ruckus at the airport for quite some time. Mr Munde was later released. He then proceeded to Miraj by road.

The incidence has come as a major embarrassment for the Congress-NCP government since the state home minister Jayant Patil, along with many veterans like RR Patil and Patangrao Kadam, come from Sangli. The failure of the government to contain the situation has left the government worried about the political fall-out ahead of the state assembly elections next month.

Shoot orders in Maharashtra town

8 09 2009

Shoot-at-sight orders were issued in a violence-affected Ichalkaranji town of western Maharashtra on Monday evening after one person was stabbed and 40 places torched in communal riots.

The communal riots that started on Wednesday in Sangli and Miraj, some 350 km south-west of Mumbai, have spread to neigbhouring textile town of Ichalkaranji (in Kolhapur) and several places in Satara districts.

“We ordered shoot-at-sight to control rioting today. The curfew will also stay till further directives,” said Kolhapur District Collector Laxmikant Deshmukh.

Refusal by over 100 Ganesh Mandals in Sangli and Miraj to immerse the idols over removal of a cutout that showed Maratha King Shivaji slaying Adilshah knight Afzal Khan sparked violence in the areas.

The cut out was removed by the administration after Muslims demanded it. The mandals want the cutout restored.

The saffron alliance bagged this opportunity to politicise the issue ahead of the October 13 polls. The violence-affected places are in Home Minister Jayant Patil’s native district.

The administration barred several BJP and Shiv Sena leaders from entering the violence-affected areas on Monday. The police used force to disperse activists and detained some Sena leaders in Sangli and Miraj.

BJP general secretary Gopinath Munde was detained at Lonavala while traveling with several party MLAs by road to Miraj on Monday evening. Earlier in the day, he was not allowed to fly out to Kolhapur from Mumbai. The protesting BJP activists were lathicharged.

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan alleged political conspiracy. “We have asked the police to handle the situation with iron hands.”

Ichalkanji has been tense for past five days and witnessed incidents of stone pelting, arson and stabbing.

Sangli rages with riots

2009-09-06

Largescale communal violence stalls Ganesh immersion at Miraj, a small town in the district

Known for its sitar manufacturing industry, Miraj, a communally sensitive town adjoining Sangli in Sangli district has been burning for the last few days. A majority of the Ganesh mandals have not immersed Lord Ganesha’s idols following large-scale violence in the town and also in Sangli district.

The district is the hometown of several top leaders of the state including Home Minister Jayant Patil, former Deputy Chief Minister RR Patil and Revenue Minister Patangrao Kadam.

It all began after a temporary arch was put up by local mandals dominated by the saffron alliance party sympathisers including Shiv Sena activists and BJP MLAs. The arch displayed a scene of the slaying of Afzal Khan by Chhatrapati Shivaji. Permission to put up this arch was earlier denied by the district administration fearing that it would lead to tension. However, senior Shiv Sena leader Diwakar Raote visited Sangli and pressurised the district administration to grant permission. All hell broke loose, when members of the minority community protested against the scene on the arch on Wednesday. Some tore off the cloth on the arch setting off stone pelting and clashes with the police. In the melee, members of the minority community are said to have thrown stones inside a Ganesh mandal.

Large-scale violence spread across Sangli and other parts of the district. The administration had failed to anticipate this kind of violence. According to local journalists and residents, there has been a definite attempt to rake in political mileage from these incidents. « This is a game of the politicians and the commoners are being affected by the violence, » says Shyam Kamble, an NGO worker. « No politician has come forward to resolve the dispute, but no religion teaches us to throw stones on idols. It is the worst violence I have ever seen, » says Shabbir Patel, a real estate agent.

The Miraj assembly constituency has undergone changes and has now been reserved for the scheduled castes. Traditionally, the assembly segment was allocated to the Shiv Sena in the seat sharing between the Sena and the BJP. However, a BJP MLA, Suresh Khade from the same district has been allegedly showing interest in the constituency. Sources claimed that the BJP was prepared to demand the seat and the Sena wanted to steal the show by raking up an issue. The Home Minister is camping in the district and has held a meeting with heads of the Ganesh mandals.

Police officials and locals claim that the violence seem to be an attempt to target Superintendent of Police Krishna Prakash, who is an efficient and clean officer. Fundamentalist elements and anti-social elements in the district have an axe to grind with the SP, who has cracked down on illegal activities in Sangli.

Curfew imposed in Sangali due to communal clash

Curfew was imposed today in Sangli following communal clash between two communities, police said.

Sangli (Maha), Sep 6 (PTI)

The curfew will be in force till 2 pm tomorrow, they said.

The city had been tense since Thursday when some members of minority community allegedly damaged a Ganesh pendal depicting the historical scene of Shivaji killing Afzal Khan, they said.

The Ganesh mandals here have not immersed the idols as a protest against the incident.

The curfew was imposed in troubled Miraj in the district last night, they said. The curfew will be in force here till 9 am tomorrow, they said.

Maharashtra Home Minister Jayant Patil, who visited the city today, urged members of both the communities to maintain peace and harmony.

The minister could not give orders due to Model Code of Conduct which is in force due to next month’s assembly elections, sources said.

Group clash leads to tension in Miraj

Ravindra Daftardar, TNN 3 September 2009, 01:52am IST

SANGLI: At least five people were injured in stone-pelting by members of rival groups as a row over the installation of a welcome arch at the

busy Laxmi market in Miraj, led to a clash between two communities late on Thursday afternoon. The market falls along the main route for the Ganesh immersion procession, slated for Friday.

The Sangli district police had to resort to a lathi charge to disperse the clashing groups and bring the situation under control. The injured were taken to the Miraj civil hospital for treatment, the police said.

Late in the evening, senior officials, including Sangli district collector Shyam Wardhane and superintendent of police (SP) Krishna Prasad, held a meeting with members of the local peace committee as well as legislators Hafeez Dhature and Bajrang Patil, to ensure calm ahead of the Ganesh immersion procession.

Miraj, which is part of the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad triangle of townships controlled by a single municipal corporation, is better known for its network of healthcare facilities and as a hub for musical instruments. The minority communities constitute almost 40 per cent of Miraj’s nearly 2 lakh population, which makes the town a communally sensitive location.

According to police, one of the communities had put up a welcome arch showcasing an event of historic significance. However, this did not go down well with members of the other community as they started gathering in front of the arch on Thursday.

Tension prevailed as members from both communities came face-to-face. Violence broke out around 4 pm when people started pelting stones at each other, police added.

Sangli SP Krishna Prasad, who rushed to the site, told TOI, « The situation is now under control. We have started removing the arch. » The incident won’t have a bearing on Friday’s immersion procession, he said.

Collector Wardhane said, « The community, which put up the welcome arch, had taken permission from the concerned area police station much before the election code of conduct came into force. Following the imposition of the code, the permission ceased to exist and the community was expected to seek fresh approval from the district returning officer to ensure that the arch did not violate the code. This revised approval process did not happen. »

The district administration has enhanced security measures in the Laxmi market area by pressing an additional force into service to ensure peace.

Informations

Sangli (Marathi: सांगली) is a city and a municipal council located in the Indian state of Maharashtra, roughly 400 kilometers southeast of Mumbai. Sangli is also the administrative headquarters of Sangli District.

Sangli has the largest trading centre for turmeric & Raisin (Kishmish) in Asia. The green city is inside what is called ‘Sugar Belt’ of Maharashtra. The district has more than thirty sugar factories, which makes it among the highest sugar-producing districts of India. It also has oil seeds, commodities and fruit market.

Sangli is also known for high quality grapes and houses many state and privately owned cold storage facilities. A grape wine park spread over 1.42 square kilometres (350 acres) has been established at Palus, 30 km from Sangli city. A brand new Sangli Food Park, spread across 1.2 square kilometres (300 acres) is under construction at Alkud Mane-Rajuri.

The city derives its name from « Saha Galli » (« Six Lanes » in Marathi). Sangli city is known as Natyapandhari, the birthplace of Marathi drama. It has a historic Ganpati temple built in the 18th century by ruling Patwardhan dynasty of Sangli, appointed by Peshwas of Pune. The temple attracts thousands of devotees year around.

The twin cities, Sangli and Miraj have merged to form the largest urban agglomeration in Southern Maharashtra. The cities have important education centres offering graduate and post graduate quality education in the areas of arts, science, management, medicine, and engineering. The twin cities offers infrastructure that includes railway junction, affordable housing, public transport, telephone, high speed internet, star hotels, multiplex theatres, shopping malls and super markets, clubs and state-of-art sports complex. Miraj-Sangli twin cities together have more than 800 hospitals; Density wise it’s the highest in Country.

Sangli is now emerging as one of the largest power generation hubs of India. Reliance Wind Energy (RWE), a subsidiary of Reliance ADA Group’s energy business, is setting up 150-MW wind power project worth Rs 900 crore with Suzlon Energy. Suzlon Energy will set up the wind farm in Sangli, one of the known wind zones in the state. The project will be in two phases, and is expected to be rolled out by March 2008.

The wind power project at Sangli will be one of the largest power project by Reliance, which is one of the largest private companies of India. After completion, the project will generate 380 million units of electricity per annum.

Miraj, also the capital of one of the former Princely States, is renowned for the manufacturing musical instruments. The Dargah of Meerasaheb Avalia attracts many devotees. Miraj is also known as hospital city offering every modern medical treatment. Hospitals in the region serve people of South [Maharashtra] and North Karnataka and even from Middle East countries. Some of the biggest hospitals in the area include century old Mission Hospital, Wanless Hospital, Siddhivinayak Cancer Hospital, Kripamayee Institute of Mental Science, Civil Hospital.

~ par Alain Bertho sur 7 septembre 2009.

Publié dans दंगा, émeutes, riots