Neral market shuts in support of rights activist Gorakh Shep's fast, doctors advise on his health
Shops in Neral village, Karjat taluka, stayed shut on the fourth day of Gorakh Shep's fast, as doctors checked his heart and advised hospital care.
The market in Neral village in Karjat taluka stayed completely shut today. The bandh was called to support the fast of human rights activist Gorakh Shep, who began it on September 28 demanding that the village's problems be resolved.
Shep is sitting at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk in Neral. He has 13 demands in all. These include settling matters related to the Neral gram panchayat and work related to the Public Works Department and the construction department of the Zilla Parishad. He wants the functioning of the gram panchayat officer and the administrator of the Neral gram panchayat to be investigated. Another demand is that a Neral municipal council be created. In three days of fasting, not one of the 13 demands has been met.
Following this, the "Hum Neralkar" group appealed for the Neral market to be kept shut. Several young men went around the market urging people to observe the bandh. On the fourth day of the fast, the village market looked closed from early morning. After the group's appeal, the bandh appeared to be 100 per cent successful from morning.
Traders in Neral kept their shops closed. Hawkers and pavement vendors also heeded the appeal and stopped business. According to information from the police station, no letter appealing for a Neral bandh was given to the police. Even so, since the fast is on to resolve the village's issues, people are showing their support by keeping the market shut.
Concern over Shep's health has meanwhile grown. When his condition did not improve after midnight, doctors at the Neral primary health centre carried out an ECG and examined him. Shep is a heart patient.
The health department has advised Neral police and the administration that, as Shep has undergone bypass surgery, he should be admitted to hospital and treated under the supervision of a cardiologist. If the fast continues beyond the fourth day, the possibility of the administration admitting him to hospital cannot be ruled out.
