Navi Mumbai Maratha community caters to large morcha crowd

The community spread across Panvel, Khopoli Kamothe, Kharghar, Belapur, Ulwe took up the challenge of catering food which could feed up to 50 lakh people

Navi Mumbai

Navi Mumbai Maratha community caters to large morcha crowd

The entire Maratha community in Navi Mumbai worked through the night on Wednesday to ensure that the lakhs of people travelling on foot along with Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil were well fed and hydrated. The community spread across Panvel, Khopoli Kamothe, Kharghar, Belapur, Ulwe took up the challenge of catering food which could feed upto 50 lakh people. The samaj prepared food to be served as lunch and dinner.

Each node is said to have prepared food which could be consumed by 10 lakh persons, said the community organisers

Taking into consideration the grandness of the event, the community engaged in micro level management that required setting up of multiple teams and groups. The groups were further divided into subgroups and each were entrusted with multiple tasks.

“The community residing in Navi Mumbai has come out selflessly to support the movement. Since Thursday morning members have been actively involved in raising all possible assistance like procuring hundreds of tables and chairs, bags etc. Groups comprising 20 to 30 people from each node were assigned various tasks for smooth movement of the rally,” said Ranjana Sadolikar, a resident from Kamothe.

Over 1.25 lakh Mathadi workers working across the five markets of APMC showcased their solidarity by contributing ₹200 each “The response to the event is unparalleled. It’s not just Maratha community, but we have even agri Kolis, Muslims, Gujarati and Marwadis pitching. Although those walking in the morcha are known to self-sufficient as they carry their own linens, eatables and vessels for cooking, but we have made arrangements for their stay at the market, Terna medical college ground and even at Bharati Vidyapeeth ground in Kharghar,” said Vinod Pokharkhar, spokesperson of Sakal Maratha Samaj.

Large quantity of food was prepared that included chapattis, bhakri, pulav, lapsi, farsan etc. While the women rolled out chapattis, the male volunteers helped in packing it. “My wife has single handedly rolled out over 80-odd chapatis and each of these were packed in the traditional manner known as ‘Shidori’ (a cloth bundle which can be hung on the shoulder) wherein the rotis are wrapped with vegetables and chutney to be easily consumed while travelling,” said Vijay Chavan, one of the active member from the samaj.

Separate teams were formed to look into coordination with the police department. Volunteers were roped into to look into food collection and distribution. To avert any instance of dehydration, a dedicated team looked into water transportation. “The rally has received support from non-Marathas as well wherein donations were made in terms of money and products likely to be needed for the occasion. At short distances, stalls were put up right from the Palaspe junction to Belapur which covered almost 25 kms,” said advocate Samadhan Kashid.

Till Thursday late evening, the Maratha quota leader Manoj Jarange-Patil’s cavalcade was moving slowly and was expected to reach Navi Mumbai in the early hours of Friday. “The rally was supposed to have reached the city by this afternoon, and we had prepared food for both lunch and dinner. However, even at 8.30 pm, the rally was in Khopoli. Therefore, it is expected that a large quantity of food and water is likely to remain unconsumed. We are trying to figure out how to use this,” said Amol Shitole, another active member of the samaj.