Farmers With Solar Panel On Head To Charge Phones: Meet The Bright Heroes From Kisan Long March
The sea of farmers in red caps, carrying red flags ensure all these grounds were covered, along with those that require a little more effort.
Walking for six days is an arduous task. Bet it requires more than courage to undertake a 180-kilometre-long journey on foot, braving the scorching heat, without food, water. The protesting farmers, who started to march from Nashik on March 6 and reached Mumbai on Sunday, are cleverer than most.
The sea of farmers in red caps, carrying red flags ensure all these grounds were covered, along with those that require a little more effort.
In a crowd pf protesters, where it is difficult to distinguish one from the other, a few farmers were spotted carrying mini solar panels, size of a hat, tied to their heads. The purpose? Charging mobile phones during the laborious journey.
Nathu Nivrutti Udar is marching at #KissanLongMarch with a solar panel on his head. "I got this panel for my house but when we decided to come here I thought I should install this on my head, so that I can charge the panels and use it to charge farmers' phones,"he said. pic.twitter.com/pjwZoj13ax
¡ª Bobins Abraham (@BobinsAbraham) March 12, 2018
A handful farmers were spotted with these devices, which they were sharing with fellow protesters. Upon being asked, they told that a half-hour charge could give enough energy to the phone to run a couple of hours. The panels could charge four-five phones at a time.
Among these, 60-year-old Sundarabai Mhadu Bhoi, relied on groundnuts to keep up the energy. She generously shared the much-needed supplies with the reporters and fellow protesters.
BCCL
Many farmers were seen using cardboard to protect themselves from the blazing sun at the site of a protest rally in Mumbai Azad Maidan.
BCCL
Close to 55,000 farmers of the All India Kisan Sabha are demanding Devendra Fadnavis¡¯ Maharashtra government to give them a fair price for their crop and a waiver of all loans.
Babasaheb Bawiskar, an ageing farmer who is part of the rally that commenced in Nashik on Tuesday, said he has a huge family to fend for and hasn¡¯t got any help from the government over the last few years. ¡°I have been ailing and am unsure how I will be able to take care of my family in the coming days,¡± he told The Times of India.
The resolve of these farmers was visible as they continued to walk undeterred by the blisters and injuries on their feet. Ajit Nawale of the All India Kisan Sabha said that villagers supplied the protesters with ration. One such villager in Bhiwandi said: ¡°I can relate to the pain of the farmers as I see it on my husband¡¯s face every year after a failed crop. We hope they seek a reply to all the hardships we have been facing over the last several years.¡±
The stir is likely to be called-off after the farmers reached an agreement with the Devendra Fadnavis government. The government has agreed to give written assurances that it would address their grievances within the next two months.