India, July 22 -- A steady supply of pizzas, biryani, langar, fruits and even golgappas have turned into protest essentials at the Jantar Mantar, where volunteers from different walks of life have joined hands to keep hundreds of students participating in the ongoing CJP protest fed and hydrated. As the protest demanding accountability over the NEET paper 'leak' and resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan continued, Jantar Mantar has transformed into a community kitchen, with office-goers, elderly citizens, children and community groups standing shoulder to shoulder, serving meals, snacks and refreshments to the agitators.
The menu also reflects the preferences of the largely young crowd - pizzas, biryani, chips, biscuits, fruit juices and cold drinks - while local vendors are offering golgappas and dahi bhallas to the protesters - all free of cost. Many food packets also carried portable hand fans to help the protesters keep cool amid the humid weather. The Sikh community, including Nihang Sikhs, who had joined the protest on Tuesday, organised a langar that continued through Wednesday, serving fresh meals to anyone walking in. Many children were spotted distributing water bottles, while the elderly volunteers handed out bananas and seasonal fruits to the gathering. Ravi Maurya, an employee with a multinational company in Delhi who took leave from work to volunteer, said support was arriving from across the country and even overseas.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.