Generous Deeds by Mumbaikars and Dabbawalas amidst Farmer's Protest

Mumbai dabbawalas, for whom giving food is the greatest donation that one can make, have again proved that when it comes to providing food, no one can beat this great 125 years old network. And this time they were also joined by the local residents to help more than 30,000 farmers, by providing them food and water who were protesting at Azad Maidan in South Mumbai demanding loan waivers, better prices for their produce and land rights.

A huge mob of farmers wearing red Gandhi caps and holding flags, walking barefoot for over 180 km from Nashik reached to Azad Maidan after marching for six long days. Farmers had commenced their last lap of the journey on Sunday night just to make sure that schedule of students giving board exams on Monday morning don’t get hampered due to traffic from their protest and other odd reasons. Seeing this morally accountable behaviour of theirs, city residents decided to help the distressed, since they are our food providers.

A saying by Alan D. Wolfelt, “Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate” seemed true for farmers who upon entering Mumbai received a warm welcome by various NGO workers, communities, students and of course the Dabbawalas. Dabbawalas are an integral part of ‘Mumbai roti-bank’, which uses GPS (Global Positioning System) to collect excess food from public functions, hotels, eateries etcetera to redistribute it to the needy. People offered packets of biscuits, dates, snacks and water to recover from hunger and dehydration along with footwear to those who were barefoot and had suffered blisters.

The protest was carried out for demanding loan waivers to help farmers in debt, as promised by The State government in June 2017, which is yet to come into action. As the government sets prices for farming to support production and income, they also demanded at least one-and-a-half times the cost of their crops. Tribal farmers demanded to own the land in the forest on which they were cultivating for many years. The protest came to an end after meeting with state ministers followed by government’s written agreement to the demands.

Mumbai, the city of dreams, has a place for all. Be it floods, heavy rains or any Anthropogenic hazard, it has always found a way to fight through it by being together and showing empathy. And yet again they have proved that kindness and compassion are the best humanly means of support to people in need.