Mumbai, 3 Sep

More than 125 metric tonnes of garbage were collected from Azad Maidan and its surrounding areas in south Mumbai during the five-day-long Maratha quota agitation, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Wednesday.

Azad Maidan was the ground zero of the Maratha reservation protest launched by activist Manoj Jarange. He began his indefinite fast on 29 August and called it off on Tuesday afternoon after the Maharashtra government accepted most of his demands.

His protest drew thousands of Maratha community members from across the state. The nearby Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and area around the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarter building virtually became the camping sites of these protesters, many of whom were seen cooking, consuming food, sleeping and even bathing on pavements and roads.

All this generated large amounts of garbage at the protest site and the surrounding areas. Heaps of garbage, including leftover food items, mineral water bottles, wrappers, paper plates and cups were seen in the area.

Talking to PTI, a senior BMC official said, "On the first day of the agitation on August 29, four metric tonnes of solid waste were collected from the ground, followed by seven metric tonnes the next day."

Thirty tonnes of garbage were collected on 31 August and September 1 each, and 57 tonnes - the highest during the protest - on 2 September, he said.

On 1 September, BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani conducted a meeting with the Maratha quota activists over sanitation inside and outside the Azad Maidan.

A total of 466 civic staffers, including 438 labourers, 16 head supervisors, 11 supervisors and one assistant head supervisor, were involved in ensuring that the protest site and nearby areas remain clean, the official said.

Three large and two mini compactors, 13 sewer cleaning vehicles (SCVs), one litter picker and four machines, including suction and jetting equipment vehicles, were deployed during the cleanliness drive, he added.

The civic body had provided more than 350 mobile toilets at three locations, including Azad Maidan, according to him.

Another 61 permanent toilet seats in nearby locations such as Azad Maidan, Mahapalika Marg, MG Road, DN Road and near the High Court were also made functional, with a dedicated cleaning team deployed round the clock, the official said.

"Dedicated teams of labourers were deployed for continuous cleanliness," the official said, adding that the BMC also arranged 26 water tankers for drinking water at various locations in South Mumbai, including the protest site.

The BMC made available a large quantity of material to 'A' administrative ward for sanitation purposes, including 500 kg plastic bags, 1,500 lifters, 400 brooms and brushes, 1000 hand gloves, 500 reflective jackets, and 177 rain suits for the labourers. Around 100 kg of disinfectant powder and more than 1,000 kg of bleaching powder were made available to the ward, the official said.

After Jarange called off his hunger strike and declared victory, his supporters dispersed from the area in the evening. Some activists on Tuesday tried to distribute the leftover food -- sent by community members from across Maharashtra -- among local residents and others passing by the area.

Still, a significant amount of food remained inside the protest site and at a couple of locations outside it till late at night.

Teams of the BMC cleaned the roads and Azad Maidan overnight.

A Maratha community activist on Tuesday said they would have cleaned the site, but protestors from outside Mumbai had already left, and local members dispersed due to Ganpati immersion.