Four men try to climb telecom tower for separate Vidarbha

NAGPUR - Four young men attempted to climb a 150-foot tall communications tower in the heart of the city Tuesday evening, demanding a separate state of Vidarbha.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police B. T. Patil, the young men belonged to a pro-Vidarbha group. They attempted to climb up the wireless communication tower of the BSNL.

“They managed to climb around 40-50 feet before we urged them to come down for safety reasons,” Patil said.

However, they continued to shout pro-Vidarbha slogans for nearly an hour before an official from the district collectorate came and pacified them.

The official assured them that they would be given an opportunity to present their demands before Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who is expected to visit Nagpur Wednesday.

While a huge crowd gathered to witness the drama, the men were let off by the police with a warning.

Meanwhile, the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) which is at the forefront of the pro-separate state agitation, has urged people to “boycott” Chavan when he comes to Nagpur.

“This is to lodge our protest against his wavering utterances and unclear stand on the issue of a separate Vidarbha,” VJAS president Kishor Tiwari said.

Tiwari said that though Chavan last week declared he would oppose the formation of a separate Vidarbha, he changed his stance on the issue Tuesday.

Chavan said in Mumbai Tuesday that he would abide by the decision of the party high command and its coalition partner Nationalist Congress Party on the issue of a separate Vidarbha.

Tiwari termed the action of the four men in climbing the BSNL tower as a “casual and irresponsible approach to a serious and genuine demand for a separate Vidarbha”.

Incidentally, all major political parties and other groups participated in a two-day sit-in agitation demanding a separate Vidarbha which ended Monday in Nagpur.