On Tuesday, a large assembly of women congregated in the Azad Maidan locality in South Mumbai to conduct a protest focused on several demands concerning issues such as food security and the rationing system.
CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat led the protest organised by the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA). Several police personnel had to be deployed to control the protesters who thronged the road near the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters and Azad Maidan, and to regularise vehicular traffic, an official said.
The AIDWA’s office is in the Azad Maidan area and they had sought permission to state the agitation on the footpath there, but the police denied them permission and asked them to protest at Azad Maidan, which is a designated place, he said.
A delegation later met Maharashtra Food and Civil Supply Minister Chhagan Bhujbal at Mantralaya, the state secretariat, to put forth their demands related to food security and rationing system.