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From biryani to bandages: How Delhi rallied behind student protesters, CJP at Jantar Mantar
After the police crackdown, citizens sent food, medicines and essentials to Jantar Mantar, overwhelming volunteers with donations.
Two days after they were struck with batons and hit with tear gas by the Delhi Police as they attempted to march to the Parliament, thousands of undeterred protesters continue to throng to the Jantar Mantar protest site and the arterial roads around it.
On Tuesday, many said they had come to Jantar Mantar after watching videos of violence against the protesters. They didn’t show up empty handed. They came with cartons of water, aerated drinks, home-cooked meals, bananas, medicines, chips, and biscuits.
Two friends who came from south Delhi’s East of Kailash told HT, “Since the stage was dismantled by police personnel on Monday and the arrangements must have been ruined, we decided to do our bit and get what we could. So, we got two cartons of chilled Lahori Jeera. It’s not enough, but it’s something.”
Usman, 23, a resident of Chawdi Bazar, was also one of them. “We saw videos of young people, including girls, being beaten up. People from my neighbourhood asked me to take some food here so neighbours pitched in with home cooked food – roti, sabzi, dal. So I have brought that for whoever would like to eat. People have been here for hours, days. This is our way of expressing solidarity.”
Shivam, 20, a resident of Faridabad who is pursuing a diploma in computer science, said, “My brother and I have brought samosas with us from Faridabad. We were protesting peacefully yesterday. The way the government has dealt with children will only fuel more resentment.”
Since Tuesday, every few hours, delivery executives have stopped to deliver food ordered by strangers for anyone hungry at the protest site. Around 7.30 pm on Tuesday, HT met a delivery executive who was on a video call with the customer who had ordered kilos of biryani.
Delivery executive Ravi Kumar who came from a restaurant in Greater Kailash told HT, “Someone named Anil ordered 25 veg thalis and told me to drop it near the protest venue. They just wanted to help the students. This is my second order delivery here.”
By 10 pm, appeals were being made from the stage requesting people to stop sending food. At 1.30 pm on Wednesday, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) posted on X: “Update from Jantar Mantar: We have enough food for today! Please do not send any more food, as we want to ensure nothing goes to waste. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed!”
Outside the protest site stood several delivery executives unsure of what to do with the orders that the protesters had refused to take because there was already too much food. “I video called the customer and made him speak to a volunteer who told him that they just can’t accept any more food. This is my sixth visit to the protest site today. Every time I come here, volunteers start offering me food to eat,” said delivery executive Mausam.
Inside the protest site, a few volunteers have set up tables where the food is kept, while others stand in a line to offer food to anyone walking in or out. Apart from food, there are also stalls that are offering slippers, facial wipes, dettol, bandages, medicines, ORS, cotton, and sanitary napkins. On Wednesday, students of Aryabhatta College of Delhi University collected ₹8,000 within four hours to buy sanitary pads, ORS packets, and food items
“People are moved by the protest and everything that happened on Monday. Even if they can’t be here, they are showing their support through such ways,” said a 31-year-old protester who asked not to be named.
