A cross-country trip in solidarity with farmers

KOCHI: Clad in a pair of jersey with small backpacks and water bottle, Jibin George, a youth from Shankhumukham has embarked on a cycle from Thiruvananthapuram to Jammu and Kashmir to join the farmers’ protest at the national capital ‘s borders. He is also focusing on spreading awareness on the farmers’ issue among the public throughout his journey.

“Thousands of farmers are protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws and have stayed put at the borders of Delhi,” says Jibin, a second-year student at Rajadhani Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Attingal. However, what prompted Jibin to embark on such a ride was a thought which came up during a journey he had in November after the lockdown period.

“Although I came across several news reports on farmers’ protest on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, I didn’t know the seriousness of the cause. Later, I did a close study on it. I even noticed that people in the southern states were least bothered about these issues and many were ignorant. After returning from my trip on December 9, I decided to go on an all-India cycle expedition to create awareness about the protesting farmers and their concerns,” said the 22-year-old. 

Though Jibin has gone for several long-distance cycle rides in the past, this is the first time that he has embarked on a cycle ride for a cause. “Farmers are the backbone of our nation and they need our respect, not our sympathy. During the ride, I will be sharing information on the new farm laws and will be speaking to the public about how the Centre’s new laws are going to affect the farmers,” said Jibin as he reached Kollam on Friday morning. 

He will be covering the major cities including Madurai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Agra, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Gulmarg, Nagpur, New Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. Jibin added that he will be joining the protest after reaching the Delhi border and will participate in it for three days. Besides creating awareness, he is also planning to collect funds to support the protesting farmers.

Jibin George with his cycle on which he is travelling from the state capital to Jummu