NOIDA: A round-the-clock langar that started at the Chilla protest site on Wednesday has fed more than a hundred farmers, local residents, jhuggi dwellers and policemen in the first few hours.
The Gurdwara Parbandhak committee of Uttarakhand Nanakmatta Sahib has started the service, the first one at the protest site, and sewadars will be preparing daal, chawal, poori, sabzi and pakora, along with tea, throughout the day.
At least 10 people from Gurumatta area who were cooking and serving food to people on Wednesday said hundreds of visitors, including policemen, had eaten till the afternoon.
Sukhwant Singh Bhullar, the state national secretary of BKU-Bhanu's Uttarakhand unit, who is also associated with the Gurdwara Parbandhak committee, said: "Farmers are sitting here in extreme cold conditions. We can't see our annadata sitting hungry and hence, the committee decided to start the langar service. Farmers will be given breakfast, lunch and dinner here and tea will be served throughout the day."
A sub-inspector who had lunch at the langar said he appreciated the effort put in by the group. Mahendra Singh, a sewadar said they prepared masoor dal, rice, pakoras, and tandoori roti.
On November 30, the group had started a langar near Ghazipur.
Yogesh Pratap Singh, state vice president, BKU-Bhanu said the tractor rally planned for Wednesday was cancelled because of the rain and will be held on Thursday.
"Our supporters are still being stopped in different districts like Kushinagar, Lucknow, Barabanki, Kasganj, Mathura, Agra, Amroha and Etah. Our leaders from Etah wanted to come here but the DM of Etah and the SSP stopped them. In Firozabad, our leaders have been detained," he said.