Maharashtra bandh lead to delay of over 200 flights in Mumbai

Mumbai: Flight operations at the Mumbai airport were hit on Wednesday due to the Maharashtra bandh called by Dalit leaders.

Twelve flights were cancelled and 235 delayed, PTI reported.

As many as 182 flight departures and 53 arrivals at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) were delayed till around 1600 hours on Wednesday, according to a website tracking real-time flight status at airports across the world.

Of the 12 cancelled flights, seven were departures and five were arriving ones, as per the website.

However, later in the evening on Wednesday, a Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) spokesperson said the "flights (are) landing and taking off on time".

Earlier, crew members of various airlines had reported late at the airport due to traffic disruptions.

#FlyAI :In view of the ongoing unrest in Pune & Mumbai, applicable penalties of re-issuance, date change, no-show, cancellation & refund charges for travel from/to Pune & Mumbai for both Dom & Intl flts stand waived on all tkts issued on/before 02 Jan’18 for travel till 04 Jan’18 — Air India (@airindiain) January 3, 2018

#9Wupdate Due to unrest in Mumbai, Pune & Aurangabad, we’ve extended the waiver on change and cancellation charges, including fare difference if any, on all confirmed tickets for flights to and from Mumbai, Pune & Aurangabad, on 4th January, 2018. — Jet Airways (@jetairways) January 3, 2018

#6ETravelAdvisory: For assistance, reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, chat with us https://t.co/ohwG3HzXGX or call us at +91 9212783838. pic.twitter.com/r16TtVQvbC — IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) January 2, 2018

Meanwhile, the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh, a Dalit party headed by Prakash Ambedkar - the grandson of Bharat Ratna BR Ambedkar, on Wednesday called off the bandh. The shutdown had elicited support from various Dalit parties, Leftist parties, some Maratha groups.

The bandh was called to protest the violence that occurred at Bhima-Koregaon near Pune on January 1, 2017. Clashes between Dalit groups and supporters of 'right-wing Hindu organisations' during the 200th-anniversary celebrations of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in Pune district had left a man dead.

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In Pune, cases were registered by the Pimpri police against Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, who heads the Hindu Ekta Aghadi and Shivraj Pratishthan respectively, for allegedly inciting the violence. The two organisations had opposed the celebration of "British victory" in the battle.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the Bombay High Court into the violence. He has also said that a Rs 10 lakh compensation would be given to kin of the youth killed and his death would be probed by the CID.

(With Agency inputs)