Community kitchens are ready to serve participants

Ambala/Karnal: Having helped the brethren from Punjab in breaching the heavy barricading arrangements made by Haryana police, locals here have now set up community kitchens for the farmers heading towards the Singhu and Tikri borders.

There are around dozen and half small and big community kitchens being manned by locals, who serve variety of dishes in addition to milk and tea.

The persons manning the kitchens claimed to have served over one lakh people since Friday morning.

Visit any kitchen site, with folded hands locals could be seen inviting the passersby and farmers to rest and relax.

Though there is almost one community kitchen every 30 to 40km, prominent ones include the kitchen run by Darbar Sampradye Sant Ashram Lopo of Moga district at Bastara toll plaza of Karnal and by the residents of Charuni and nearby villages of Kurukshetra.

“We don’t know how much have served and how long we shall go. All we know is that this will continue till farmers win the battle,’’ said Harmeet Singh at Karnal community kitchen, which is manned by residents of Uchani, Achhata, Sultanpur, Barha Khera, Salaye, Ramba, Janesar and Kurali villages of Karnal.

“Normally, around 150 people manage the kitchens but for the last two days, we are having around 400 to 600 men and women volunteering,” he added.

Similar was the story of the community kitchen at Mohra village of Ambala, which is manned by Darbar Sampradaye of Moga. People from around Mohra and nearby village are running the kitchen.

“Besides, the dera is providing us men and material. In the last two days, we used 40 quintal potatoes, six quintal seasonal veggies, 1.5 quintal paneer, 15 quintal wheat flour and 12 quintal rice,” said Avtar Singh, who is manning kitchen in Mohra.