Latur in September: A Festival Tableau for Schools and a Regulatory Blow to a Bank Board
Two distinct stories defined Latur in September 2026: an entrepreneur from Ujani village using a Ganesh festival tableau to campaign for government school infrastructure, and the Reserve Bank of India ordering the removal of Maharashtra Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil and seven other directors from the Latur District Central Cooperative Bank board for exceeding statutory tenure limits.
🎉 Ganesh Festival Tableau Champions Cause of Government School Conditions in Latur
Suraj Dhawan, a resident of Ujani village in Ausa tehsil, Latur district, chose the occasion of the Ganesh festival to make a pointed public statement about the condition of government schools in Maharashtra. Dhawan created an elaborate tableau depicting goddess Gauri as a school teacher instructing students, filling the display with the facilities he considers essential for a functional and safe learning environment: a toilet, a library, an art section, a digital smart room, and a smart board — a catalogue of what many government schools in rural Maharashtra still lack. The Daily Pioneer reported that the tableau is inspired by the Cockroach Janta Party School Thik Karo Abhiyan, a civic campaign focused on spotlighting the real-world conditions of government school infrastructure, including physical facilities, educational environment, and services available to students. The campaign convenor Abhijeet Dipke had visited the Ujani Zilla Parishad school the previous month, giving Dhawan a direct connection to the campaign ground-level work. Dhawan explained that the tableau highlights the importance of government schools for children from economically weaker sections, including farmers, labourers, and disadvantaged communities who have no realistic alternative to government institutions for their education. By framing civic advocacy in the language of the Ganesh festival — one of Maharashtra most culturally resonant public celebrations — the tableau reached an audience that a conventional petition or street protest might not have engaged, turning a festive procession into a platform for asking urgent questions about public education infrastructure in the Marathwada region. [2]
🗳️ RBI Orders Removal of Minister Babasaheb Patil and Seven Directors from Latur DCCB Board
The Reserve Bank of India issued a direction on September 18, 2026 ordering the Latur District Central Cooperative Bank to remove Maharashtra Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil and seven other directors who had exceeded the statutory ten-year tenure limit for cooperative bank directors. The direction, issued by RBI Assistant General Manager Kapil Goswami, was the culmination of a legal process triggered by a complaint filed on May 25 by bank member Satish Sheshrao Jadhav, who alleged that eight directors had served beyond their permitted period. When the RBI did not initially act, Jadhav approached the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court, which on August 3 directed the central bank to decide the matter within six weeks. The RBI subsequently sought responses from the directors by September 10. That day, seven of them submitted their resignations to the bank chairman and managing director: Ashok Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar, Shripatrao Nivruttirao Kakade, Swayamprabha Dhananjay Patil, Vyankatrao Dhondiram Birajdar, Prithviraj Harishchandra Shirsat, Pramod Jadhav, and Nagorao Patil. The bank forwarded those resignations to the RBI before the central bank direction was issued. National Herald India reported the story on September 19, noting that Minister Babasaheb Patil is a member of the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar. The Latur District Central Cooperative Bank serves farmers, small enterprises, and rural households across the district, making its governance of direct consequence to the communities that depend on it for agricultural credit and financial services. [6]
Sources: [2] Daily Pioneer · [6] National Herald