Mumbai on edge as Bal Thackeray’s health see-saws

Like the ailing Sena chief's reported condition, the situation in Mumbai has swung from precarious to stable since Wednesday night. Here is a round-up

    Matoshree has seen a steady stream of VIP visitors since Wednesday night, when reports of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's failing health began to emerge from a thicket of rumours. But news of the Sena chief's condition has repercussions far beyond his immediate neighbourhood. Here's what's happened at Matoshree and across the city since Wednesday night. 
POLICE MOBILISED 
The Mumbai police began mobilising forces around 8.30 pm on Wednesday, after CommissionerSatyapalSinghandothertopofficialsmet with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. 
    "We were informed that the Sena chief's health was critical and we anticipated a huge crowd at Matoshree. We also anticipated problems elsewhere and hence deployed forces all over the city," a senior police officer said. 
    The main control room, located at the Police Commissionerate at Crawford Market, sent an emergency wireless message asking all police station heads and officers above the rank of assistant police commissioner to report to their stations by 10 pm. 
    Meanwhile, police stations in western region (from Bandra to Andheri on either side of the Western Expressway) were asked to deploy two-thirdsoftheirforcesatvantagepointsinthe area. Fortunately, barring incidents of violence outsideMatoshree,whereSenasupportersdamaged a TV broadcast van, there was no violence reported on Wednesday night. 
    Orders to remain present at their stations continued till early Thursday morning, till reports of the Sena chief's improving condition began to emerge. 
    In the morning, many shops and establishments remained closed on their own accord. While some be forced to shut, no violence was reported.AtMahim,atensesituationdeveloped when Sena workers tried to forcibly close an eatery. They came face to face with a crowd of people who insisted that it remain open, and there was a confrontation before the police intervened and dispersed both mobs. 
AT MATOSHREE 
Among the first to arrive at Matoshree on Wednesday evening, around 8.30 pm, was his nephew and MNS chief Raj Thackeray. Soon after, Diwali celebration lights in and around Matoshree were turned off and taken down as the Sena chief was put on life support by Dr Jalil Parkar, who remained at Matoshree till 5.30 am. 
    Suryakant Mahadik, head of the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, the Shiv Sena's trade union, who was there with MLC Ramdas Kadam, appealed for the crowd to disperse after leading a chant of "Balasaheb zindabad". 
    Inside Matoshree, Raj was spotted conversing with his MLAs, while Uddhav was with his wife, his personal assistant Ravindra Mhatre and Sena aide Ravi Dodi. 
    When Amitabh Bachchan arrived around 1 am, the main gate had been locked and the actor had to be hoisted over it to enter Matoshree. He later tweeted that both him and son Abhishek had sustained minor cuts and wounds at Matoshree and were treated by doctors there. 
    AndwhilethesteamofvisitorsarrivedatMatoshree all through Thursday, Thackeray is believed to have personally met only four: Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, BJP leader Gopinath Munde and actor Nana Patekar. 
    According to a source, Pawar is believed to haveaskedUddhaviftherewasanyneedforhim to come and visit the Sena chief, to which Uddhavrespondedintheaffirmative.Atitspeak,the crowd outside Thackeray's heavily-guarded Bandra (E) residence swelled to over 7,000 on Wednesday night, and sporadic incidents of violence against journalists were reported. 
'LET US PRAY FOR HIM' 
Late on Thursday night, Uddhav Thackeray stepped outside Matoshree with his wife and son and told Sena supporters that Bal Thackeray's health was stable, and that they should not lose hope. "You have forgotten your hunger and thirst, and you have been here since yesterday (Wednesday). Your prayers will pull Balasaheb out of this crisis," he said to hundreds of supporters around 11 pm. 
    Wearing a light blue kurta, he added, "I have not lost hope; you should also not lose hope. We are soldiers of a leader who is known to be a fighter. Let us pray for him together." GHOST TOWN 
Thursday morning began on a cautious note for Mumbaikars. Shops were shut in several Sena strongholds despite bhau-beej celebrations. Dadar, Matunga and Bandra (East) were all but deserted - only a few medical stores remained open. 
    There were fewer rickshaws and taxis available, with many anticipating trouble and choosing to stay off the roads. 
    "It was very difficult to get auto. I needed to travel from Kandivali to Bandra to visit my brother but not a single auto driver was ready to ply. Finally I took a bus and was surpised by howlittletraffictherewas,"saidNisha Sinha , a resident of Kandivali. 
    Dadar's Plaza cinema downed its shutters and cancelled all its shows; eventhepetrolpumpacrossfromSena Bhavan remained shut. 
    There were policemen at almost every junction across the city. After 7 pm on Thursday though, with several top Sena leaders claiming that the condition Thackeray's condition was stable, tension eased across the city, barring pockets around Sena Bhavan, Shivaji Park and Kalanagar. 
CHIEF MINISTER'S MEETING 
Meanwhile, antipating huge crowds outside Matoshree and at Shivaji Park, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan calledanemergencymeetingofsenior officials on Wednesday night to discuss matters such as crowd control, preventingthespreadofrumours,and arrangementsforanypossibleeventuality. 
    Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh, Director-General of Police S S Dayal, senior officers of the state government and Chief Decretary Jayant Banthia were present at the meeting. 
    The police and its intelligence units told the chief minister that they anticipate a crowds of up to 20 lakh over the coming day. Following this, a message was sent to all reserve police police units to beef up their manpower; the Rapid Action Force was also sounded out. 
    Every policeman on leave in Maharashtra was told to report back to work. 
    The traffic police have been told to keep basic connectivity working, while Railway Police Commissioner Prabhat Kumar has been instructed to keep Mumbai's lifeline on track. 
    AseniorIPSofficersaid,"Therewas a farmer agitation in western Maharashtra and most of the reserve forces were tackling the law and order situation there. We needed some time to prepare and by morning we were able to gather enough forces." Sources in the chief minister's office said that the Lt General Sanjay Kapoor, in charge of Maharashtra,GujaratandGoa,wasalsoalertedandtoldtobereadyincaseof an emergency. 
    The local army unit was also asked to be on alert. Soon after the meeting, the CM apprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pranab Mukherjee of the situation in Mumbai, following which the President decided to cancel his scheduled visit to the city.

On Wednesday evening, Diwali lights around Matoshree were taken down and a massive crowd gathered outside, waiting for news about the Sena chief's health

1. Police officials struggle to control the swelling crowds outside Matoshree on Thursday 2. Shops around Sena Bhavan remained shut 3. Uddhav, Rashmi, Aditya and Tejas outside Matoshree on Thursday night

From left: The Kapoors, veteran actor Manoj Kumar, director Madhur Bhandarkar at Matoshree on Wednesday. Cops stop a Sena worker and Salman Khan fan as he tries to approach the actor