Amidst protests, locals turn heroes

There are reports of chaos coming from various corners of the state with people now waiting for a respite from the 168-hour-long protest. However, in the midst of all this, emerges a different side of these cities as citizens unite to protect and nurture fellow humans. Wednesday evening saw ghastly images of chartered buses and numerous vehicles getting torched on the Indore-Bhopal highway near the small town of Sonkatch.When these routinely scheduled buses plying between Indore and Bhopal were set on fire, the marooned passengers ran to seek shelter in nearby hotels.
Ravish Rathore, the manager of one of the luxury resorts informed, “The buses were torched at a distance of one km from the resort. We saw a group of people running towards the resort at around 3 pm, to escape the violence. Arrangements were made immediately to accommodate over 30 people till the time their relatives came to pick them in the evening. Management even distributed milk and snacks to passengers who needed it.”
Meanwhile, in the town of Mandsaur, neighbours and strangers alike went an extra mile to help people who were stuck. Ayushi Manwariya, a resident of Mandsaur shares, “On Wednesday a group picked up a fight with a few shopkeepers in our area and their shops were set ablaze. Luckily, the families of these shopkeepers were rescued by the neighbours who managed to send them off to their relatives’ place.” And in Sehore, a family opened their home to about 20 individuals who were caught in protests. Ritesh Arya says, “Somewhere around 5 pm, we saw a group protesting in front of shops. We let the owners and workers from the shops take shelter with us till the situation was under control.”
For a person sitting miles away from home, watching videos of riots and violence taking place in their hometown can be scary. This is precisely what Sara Dhoot, a working professional in Pune, felt when she saw the news. “My father generally keeps travelling. My grandfather’s health is in bad shape and usually it is my mom who takes him for routine check-ups and fetches medicines. But because of the current situation in Indore, I requested two of my friends to accompany my mom to the hospital and market and they did so promptly,” says Dhoot. Similarly, Mumbai-based Shikha Jain’s friends readily agreed to spend the night with her mother who stays alone in Sehore, when the situation got violent. “My childhood friend Iti Sharma did not hesitate to spend the night at my place with my mother who stays alone in a government quarters.”

Indore and parts of Ratlam saw milkmen and vegetable vendors delivering extra milk packets and vegetables to regular customers. Vikram Agarwal, a resident of Indore says, “The sabji wale bhaiya from the locality, went from door to door in the morning giving vegetables to be stocked for the next few days.” His wife Arpita adds, “The society milkman has also been giving out extra milk packets for households that need it, and that too on credit.”
Abhishek Sharma, a resident of Mandsaur shares, “When I got the information that vegetables and milk would not be available locally, I went to my village and got the same in bulk. This was eventually shared with the neighbours in the society when curfew was imposed.”
Tales like these emerging from all sections of society have given a small glimmer of hope for residents, that there will always be those who place humanity above all else.