The protesting wrestlers’ struggle for justice at Jantar Mantar is popping out to be an ‘costly’ one as arranging for even probably the most fundamental wants is burning a gap of their pocket. But despite that, the wrestlers are ready for a protracted haul on the well-known protest web site, the place they’ve assembled to demand the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who they’ve accused of sexual harassment and intimidation.
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More than Rs 5 lakh spent on arranging mattesses, mattress sheets amongst different issues
In 5 days, the wrestlers have spent greater than Rs 5 lakh for arranging mattresses, mattress sheets, followers, audio system and microphones, a mini energy gen-set, aside from water and meals. Initially, they took mattresses, mattress sheets and the sound system on lease, shelling out Rs 27000 for a single day. Soon they realised that if they’ve to sit down in for a protracted interval, arranging for even little issues would turn out to be an enormous monetary burden.
“So we decided to buy mattresses. I bought 80 mattresses from my village Kharkhoda by paying Rs 50,000. We were being charged 12000 a day for all the mattresses. That’s a huge sum,” Somvir Rathi, husband of Vinesh Phogat, instructed PTI. “Initially, we had taken audio system and microphones on lease, however the one-day price was Rs 12,000. It was an excessive amount of. Now we now have purchased our personal sound system from Chandni Chowk marketplace for Rs 60,000.
“The shopkeeper was nice. He knew that athletes are on the road so he gave us the system on a not-for-profit basis,” he added. A couple of objects like followers and mills are nonetheless on lease — each at a mixed quantity of about Rs 10,000 a day. “We will buy coolers if the need arises. It’s very hot out there. We had brought Rs two lakh cash with us but have already spent about 5-6 lakh rupees so far.”
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The struggle goes on at Jantar Mantar
While Vinesh, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia are the face of the protest, folks just like the unassuming Somvir, his buddy Yogesh (Bharat Kesri) and several other others are working day and night time to maintain the protest going. “We have divided the work among ourselves. A few coaches are ensuring that quality food is being prepared by the cooks while young wrestlers deliver food to the protest site. Another guy makes sure that water supply is uninterrupted and another takes care of cleanliness and one runs errands. “Even the safety personnel assist us generally.”
_ #IStandWithMyChampions https://t.co/SpeSOZr64w
— Bajrang Punia __ (@BajrangPunia) April 28, 2023
What will they do with all of the issues after they wind up from right here? “We will distribute everything to either Gurudwara or a temple. They can make good use of mattresses, speakers and other stuff.”
Haryana wrestlers requested to remain residence for now
Somvir quietly handed on an enormous packet of water bottles over the police barricading to one of many wrestlers, who took the bundle and positioned it in a single nook of the protest space. At instances Somvir was seen making an attempt to persuade the leaders of the ‘akhaaras’ in Haryana to not ship wrestlers to the protest web site since dealing with an enormous crowd would pose a problem. “I have told them not to come here as yet. Handling a big crowd could become a big issue. A few wrestlers’ parents came with 50kg milk, and unfortunately, about 20kg went waste because it turned sour due to the summer heat. There is no place to keep such things, so we are asking people for just support.”
“There was a meeting in Rohtak on Thursday. From among 100 ‘akhadaas’ in Haryana, about 80 are willing to come here to support us.” Are they not getting monetary assist from any political celebration or influential individuals who imagine of their trigger? “If that was the case, we would have a waterproof shed over our head and some decent facilities, but we are managing with bare minimum.” The households of Vinesh, Sakshi and Bajrang are managing the associated fee. “We are not accepting help from any one as of today. We are managing by ourselves and spending money very carefully. All the people are coming are arranging for their food on their own.”
