Amravati: Hundreds of tribal students who have been protesting for several days over a range of unresolved demands began a march on foot towards Yavatmal on Friday after indefinite sit-in agitation at the additional commissionerate of the tribal development department in Amravati failed to yield a solution, officials said.
Students insist on walking despite offers of vehicles
The students, who staged the indefinite sit-in at the tribal development department office in Amravati, decided to press ahead and walk to the residence of Tribal Development Minister Dr Ashok Uike in Yavatmal after officers held discussions but could not resolve all their demands. The organisers warned earlier that they would launch an agitation in front of the minister’s residence if their demands were not met.
Local leaders and administration officials, including Congress MP Balwant Wankhade, former MLA Virendra Jagtap, District Collector Ashish Yerekar and Rural SP Niketan Kadam, reached the agitating students at Sangulwada and on Deogaon Road to hold talks and persuade them not to undertake the foot march, the administration said.
- Hundreds of tribal students began walking to Yavatmal after sit-in at the additional commissionerate.
- Officials said some demands are pending at the government level while others have already been accepted.
- MP Balwant Wankhade and former MLA Virendra Jagtap offered private vehicles, but students insisted on walking.
Administration and leaders seek to pacify demonstrators
Officials told the students that the tribal development minister was ready to discuss their grievances, and that it would not be appropriate or safe for them to undertake the long road march on foot. Nevertheless, the students remained firm that they would reach Yavatmal by walking, saying they wanted to pressurise authorities by staging a visible agitation.
The administration acknowledged the mixed nature of the demands: according to officers present, some of the issues raised by the students require action at the state government level, while others had already been accepted by concerned departments. That split, officials said, contributed to the failure of talks to produce an immediate settlement.
Local context and likely implications
The protest follows several days of agitation by tribal students in Amravati. The decision to march to the minister’s residence in Yavatmal signals an escalation intended to attract government attention beyond district-level officials. For Amravati, the mobilisation of students on major thoroughfares such as Deogaon Road and Sangulwada could affect traffic, local law-and-order arrangements and administrative workload as officials accompany the demonstrators.
| Who | Role |
|---|---|
| Balwant Wankhade | Member of Parliament (Congress) |
| Virendra Jagtap | Former MLA |
| Ashish Yerekar | District Collector, Amravati |
| Niketan Kadam | Rural Superintendent of Police |
| Dr Ashok Uike | Tribal Development Minister (target of march) |
Officials present attempted to offer less risky alternatives to a long foot march, including arranging private vehicles to convey students to Yavatmal. MP Balwant Wankhade and former MLA Virendra Jagtap urged the students to accept such arrangements, the administration said, but the students declined and maintained their demand to walk.
There was no immediate report of clashes or arrests as the students left Amravati on foot. The administration has framed its intervention as an effort to pacify the demonstrators and to ensure the minister is available for discussions; however, with certain demands noted as being at the government level, their resolution may require further escalation to state authorities.
The march will test the capacity of district authorities to manage a cross-district protest and balance the students’ assertion of their right to peaceful agitation with public safety considerations on the roads linking Amravati and Yavatmal. Officials said they would continue engagement with the students to avert any untoward incident while noting that the tribal development minister is prepared to examine the issues raised.
