Keeping his date, Maratha leader Manoj Jarange-Patil is all set to address a mega-rally at Antarvali-Sarati village in Jalna district to demand the promised quotas for his community members who have assembled from across the state on Saturday.
Returning to his native village after a 10-day tour of certain key districts of the state, Jarange-Patil is scheduled to speak around noon before a sea of humanity that has converged here from almost all districts in the state, an organizer said.
The rally is being held on a sprawling, open 100-acre area near the village, with around 500 acres reserved for parking trucks, jeeps, buses, tempos, and tractors. The people have arrived from different parts of the state.
Though exact figures are not available, locals, media, and activists estimated that roughly around 13–15 lakhs, including a large number of women and girls, are attending.
There are at least seven entrances to the venue, including one reserved for women, and all arrangements have been made to make the people secure and comfortable, while local schools were closed in view of the massive crowds turning up here.
Food packets are being supplied from several of the two-dozen villages around Antarvali-Sarati, and an army of 10,000 volunteers has been taking care of the people’s needs since yesterday.
A fleet of 10 fully equipped ambulances is stationed near the venue, 40 beds are kept ready, and a team of 300 doctors and 500 nurses is at the place to handle any big and small illnesses, with surrounding hospitals kept on standby for any major emergencies.
The organizers have arranged for 50 giant water tankers with 12,000 liters of drinking water capacity, plus over 600,000 bottles of mineral water for the rallyists, and a few portable toilets stationed outside the periphery of the venue.
The hero of the quotas movement, Jarange-Patil, will make a royal entry on a 50-meter-long flower-strewn pathway and then step up to a 15-foot-tall stage, giving a commanding view of the entire surroundings, which have been crammed by people since Friday night.
The massive arrangements, the expenditure on which has been questioned by Nationalist Congress Party (AP) Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, brought back memories of the official award function on April 16 in Navi Mumbai.
At least 11 people were killed and around 50 injured, mostly due to heat stroke, at the conferment of the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan Award’ on social reformer Dr. Dattatreya Narayan, alias Appasaheb Dharmadhikari, by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at Navi Mumbai.
