The peace admonishment comes after the Bombay High Court appealed to the community not to commit violence including suicide, as their quota demand is pending before the court.
An ambiguous advisory issued by the umbrella body of Maratha protesters demanding reservations in jobs and educational institutes has left the establishment and the people wondering if they should brace for any disruptive activity during Thursday's bandh.
While Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) has urged the demonstrators to be peaceful, it exhorts them to ensure the bandh is observed fully in all parts of the state from 8 am to 6 pm.
The peace admonishment comes after the Bombay High Court appealed to the community not to commit violence including suicide, as their quota demand is pending before the court.
There was also confusion about the extent of the bandh. MKM's locals units in Navi Mumbai and Thane said the shutdown would not be enforced in the two cities despite the parent body stating that the entire state including the metropolitan would remain shut.
Maratha leaders said at a press conference that the guidelines issued to the agitators state that they should not engage in any violence or vandalism while ensuring that the bandh was successful.
Even though MKM organisers said essential services and educational institues were excluded from the bandh appeal, the state government left it up to the school and college administrations to take a call.
Airlines, meanwhile,have issued advisories to flyers asking them to keep extra time in hand in view of the bandh. The BEST's transport arm said they would run bus services normally, but would divert buses from routes that face violence. The suburban railways would tighten security by deploying additional personnel from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) as well as the Government Railway Police (GRP) at train stations that were targeted during the agitation in July.
"Our protest will be peaceful, but we have to show the community's presence in large numbers. We are not here to harass the common people," said Sanjeev Bhor, convener, Maratha Morcha.
Another leader, Amol Jadhavrao, said that workers' unions including those of BEST and black-and-yellow taxis have been urged to extend support to Thursday's bandh. "We have also received the support of many social and community groups and unions. We have accepted the Gandhian way to put forth our demands," Jadhavrao said.
Some Schools Shut
State’s Deputy Secretary of School Education, Suvarna Kharat, told DNA that schools have not been asked to remain shut. But many have chosen to stay closed to be on the side of caution.
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