Around 9 am about 500 Indian National Congress workers led by Maharashtra state chief Nana Patole and Mumbai chief Bhai Jagtap got down on the streets of Mumbai and started walking towards south Mumbai to protest at the residential bungalow of former chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis at Malabar Hill. As the workers clogged the thin roads of south Mumbai, it led to a huge traffic jam causing inconvenience to Mumbaikars.
Which all places traffic got jammed in Mumbai on Monday morning and how long did it take traffic police to restore smooth vehicular traffic?
From 9.30 am, several places in south Mumbai started witnessing tragic snarls. The entire stretch from Worli Milk Dairy to Babulnath Temple, the entire northbound stretch of Marine Drive, and the entire stretch of Teen Batti-Walkeshwar were jammed for over two hours. Around 12.40 pm the protestors were taken off the road and traffic police gradually restored the vehicular traffic.
Why were Congress workers protesting?
The Congress people took out a morcha to protest against the BJP alleging Prime Minister Narendra Modi had insulted Maharashtra by putting the blame on state government for the migrant crisis during the first wave of Covid.
Did Congress have prior police permission to protest?
No. The Congress did not have prior police permission to protest.
What is the rule for carrying out protests in Mumbai?
The Bombay HC in 1997 had directed that all protests should be confined to Azad Maidan. If no prior police permission was sought by the agitating group, then depending on the nature of protest, the Mumbai Police can take action against protesters. If a group of people are protesting at a location besides Azad Maidan then the police can take preventive action under the Maharashtra Police Act.
Who gives permission and typically how long does it take to give permission?
The local police station usually gives permission for agitations and the whole process takes at least a week to complete. If a protest march covers a distance that appears under the jurisdiction of two police stations, then the protesting group has to apply for permission to the Assistant Commissioner of police of the area.
“Protesters usually prefer to apply for permission in the Mumbai Police headquarters after which the higher authorities there, make necessary inquiries on the route and if there is a possibility that a certain route may create a law-and-order problem, then along with the permission, we recommend changes,” said a senior police officer.
How did the police react Monday?
On Monday, the Mumbai Police took too long to get the protesters off the streets, leading to the massive traffic jam. A police document related to the protest accessed by The Indian Express also shows that the police, as per information received from the Congress, were expecting the workers to start the protest at 11 am and not 9 am. Further they were told that the crowd of Congress workers will not exceed 150 to 200. The police took too long to disperse the crowd.
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When was the last time the city had witnessed a big traffic jam?
A major traffic jam was last witnessed in March 2018 when 30,000 farmers walked to Mumbai’s Azad Maidan to protest against the policy on farm loan waivers. Also this is the second day in running the parts of Mumbai have been clogged due to traffic. On Sunday, residents travelling on Western Express Highway were stuck for well over an hour after parts of the road stretch were blocked as the convoy of President Ram Nath Kovind was moving from Raj Bhavan to the Mumbai airport. The president was on a four-day visit to the city.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-mumbai-traffic-jam-congress-protest-7772997/
