There was a time when Azad Maidan's front fence facing the BMC building near CSMT was an immediate eyeball grabber. From posters of various protests to confrontational banners demanding people's rights, the agitations piqued curiousity. Locals stopped to stare, at times endorsing the causes those crusading espoused. Doctors have held agitations at the Azad Maidan protest site at violence against the medical community. Water woes have led to a number of agitations at the South Mumbai venue. Price rise has led to sloganeering. Even the gay community has held protests at the maidan.

Not seen

Now, though, the regular protest site has lost its this-place-in-your-face location. Ongoing Metro work has meant that activists have been shunted metres inside the Maidan and are no longer visible from the front. They can be seen through the side fence, but that, too, only if you peer closely. If you want to reach the official protest site, you need to walk at least 100m inside the maidan.