With mobile war rooms, walkie-talkies, Farmers dodge net ban

Equipped with walkie-talkies, the farm leaders have established a mobile war room on a tractor trolley, serving as a platform for discussions during the protest. In order to overcome the lack of internet-based communication, the leaders will rely on walkie-talkies to conduct meetings and manage the crowd while marching.

Amid the government’s efforts to disrupt mobile communication at the Shambu border, the leaders of the farmer unions have ingeniously found a means to stay connected.

With mobile war rooms, walkie-talkies, Farmers dodge net ban

Equipped with walkie-talkies, the farm leaders have established a mobile war room on a tractor trolley, serving as a platform for discussions during the protest. In order to overcome the lack of internet-based communication, the leaders will rely on walkie-talkies to conduct meetings and manage the crowd while marching.

Reportedly, around 12 walkie-talkies that were acquired during the previous farmer’s protest at the Delhi borders in 2020-21 have proven to be invaluable this time. With a communication range of approximately four kilometers, these devices enable union leaders to communicate with one another, even from opposite ends of the three-kilometer-long protest site situated on the national highway.

When the leaders of various farmer organizations wish to convene and strategize the future course of the ongoing protest at Shambhu, they utilize walkie-talkies to coordinate meeting schedules and gather at the mobile war room promptly. This designated area serves as a hub for brainstorming sessions and decision-making among the leaders.

Lakhwinder Singh, a 26-year-old volunteer armed with a walkie-talkie, said, “Not just the internet, but mobile cell services are also down, making it almost impossible for us to coordinate with each other at the protest site. Thankfully, our walkie-talkies have come in handy. Besides, in a protest like ours there are high chances of anti-social and unscrupulous elements masquerading as farmers infiltrating the protest, and walkie-talkies help us alert our fellow protesters.”