It was an eclectic mix of IT professionals, activists, businessmen, homemakers, students and others who made up the movement in Pune which was spearheaded by India Against Corruption (IAC), an umbrella body of various organisations.
Pune rallied behind the veteran anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare as thousands took to the streets on Tuesday morning demanding a strong Jan Lokpal Bill.
It was an eclectic mix of IT professionals, activists, businessmen, homemakers, students and others who made up the movement in Pune which was spearheaded by India Against Corruption (IAC), an umbrella body of various organisations.
On Tuesday morning, a massive rally was organised from Nalstop to Balgandharva. Hundreds braved the light morning drizzle to take part in the rally. A relay hunger strike throughout the day was organised with volunteers taking turns in the strike.
A makeshift mandap, opposite Balghandhrav in Deccan Gymkhana area, was erected. It became the focal point of the agitation in the city.
Since morning, over 2,000 citizens visited the mandap to either sign in for the relay hunger strike or to show their support to the protests.
The noise of traffic in the otherwise busy chowk was drowned on Tuesday in the impromptu slogans and patriotic songs from the mandap. Cries of “Vande Mataram”, “Bharat Mata ki jai” and “Jan Lokpal honarich paiyche” echoed in the streets.
Although permission was taken from the city police for the protests, towards 3pm, the police decided to detain the protestors. This was done in view of chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s visit to Balgandharva Rangamandir for the Punyabhushan Awards at 4pm.
Around 2,000 protestors were taken to the Shivajinagar police headquarters in 19 police trucks and 7 public buses. However, a sizeable number of the protestors were released midway. This, the police pointed out, was due to paucity of space at the headquarters to accommodate all the protestors.
Working professionals Ravi and Pooja Teli, other than taking leave from their respective workplaces, left their young child with their parents to participate in the protest at Balgandharva. “The cancer of corruption has been eating away the system in India. This is our way to fight this,” they said.
Other than Balgandharva, citizens organised similar protests at various parts of the city. At Veer Savarkar Memorial on Karve Road, an impromptu protest rally was conducted and energetic students of Abhinav School participated. Similar protests were organised by Akhil Bharatiya Maratha Seva Sangh at Nalstop.
Residents of Lohegaon had organised for a bike rally in the morning. Sardar Balvir Sigh, a resident, said, “We have to participate in this fight as otherwise, we will lose our chance to be part of the second independence struggle for the country,” he said.
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