Overview
- More than 60 students, teachers and activists gathered at Hutatma Chowk and set out toward BMC headquarters before police stopped the march and redirected it to Azad Maidan after a brief scuffle.
- A five-member delegation from Marathi Abhyas Kendra met Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, who received their memorandum and said detailed discussions would be held after the election process.
- Organisers allege Marathi-medium civic schools are being shuttered under the guise of redevelopment without guarantees of reopening at the same sites, risking loss of public education access for low-income families.
- Activists cite a decade-long drop in BMC-run Marathi-medium schools from 368 in 2014–15 to 262 in 2023–24, including 28 closures for redevelopment in the past two years, 17 of them Marathi-medium.
- The group’s demands include a public structural audit, a clear SOP to ensure schools reopen after redevelopment, and assurances against closures, while the BMC says it previously invited the group for talks and will schedule a full meeting post-polls.