Manoj Jarange Patil has announced that he will leave Maharashtra’s Jalna district for Mumbai on 15 September, accompanied by only four or five associates, after saying that his health has deteriorated during a 17-day hunger strike. His planned arrival in Mumbai on 19 September could create fresh administrative and mobility challenges during the ongoing Ganesh festival period.
Jarange, a prominent leader of the Maratha reservation movement, is on an indefinite hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district. According to Navbharat Times, he said he had stopped taking saline and other medical assistance, and that he was finding it difficult to stand. He appealed to supporters not to organise welcome events along the route or join him immediately in large numbers.
The route announced for the journey includes Patoda, Shrigonda, Hadapsar and Khopoli before reaching Mumbai. Jarange said he would travel with a small group rather than a large gathering. He also asked supporters not to spend money travelling to meet him at this stage, urging them instead to preserve funds and vehicles for a later, larger Mumbai mobilisation.
The decision follows the reported refusal of permission for his proposed hunger strike at Azad Maidan during the Ganesh festival. The report does not include a direct statement from the Mumbai police or the civic administration on the permission issue. Jarange said the movement would continue despite what he described as efforts to weaken or discredit it, and criticised Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Jarange also claimed that the Maratha community could mobilise in large numbers and bring Mumbai to a standstill. That statement is an assertion by the movement leader and does not establish the scale of any planned mobilisation. His appeal for a smaller travelling group, however, indicates that the immediate movement is being presented as a limited journey rather than a mass procession.
The leader said that medical support had previously helped keep his blood sugar, blood pressure and oxygen levels stable for seven or eight days, but that he had again refused saline and water after receiving no positive response to his demands. He also asked supporters to avoid garlands and shawls, citing infection and blood-pressure risks, and suggested small rest points instead of large stages along the route.
The immediate administrative questions concern the march’s route, crowd management, traffic regulation, medical support and any formal permission required for activities in Mumbai. The report says Jarange was preparing to leave without formal police permission, but does not provide a response from the authorities. His arrival, the status of any proposed protest venue and the administration’s next steps remain to be established.
