New Delhi: Just days ago, protesters at Jantar Mantar were making light-hearted reels about “excess food” flooding the site as supporters from across the country kept on ordering meals online for them.However, by Friday, as the stir entered its 34th day, the abundance had given way to uncertainty.With mobile internet services suspended across large parts of central Delhi and 17 metro stations remaining shut, delivery platforms that were being widely used by the agitators for food, water and medicines were largely inaccessible. Essential supplies at the protest site could start drying up soon, they feared.At Janpath Metro station, papers pasted over glass panels announced its closure, but people continued to find other routes to the protest site. Ryan Kanojia, 23, who came from Saket on a bike taxi, said, “I couldn’t pay the rider yesterday because of the internet shutdown. Today, I carried cash and paid him before reaching Jantar Mantar.”Inside the protest venue, students camping through heat and intermittent rain said online delivery services that ensured a steady supply of essentials till July 23 were now displaying the message, “Please try later”.Joginder Singh Madan, who has been providing langar sevasince the students began the sit-in, said, “We are already facing a water shortage. Our volunteers are stepping out and bringing in food and water.”Some of the protesters TOI spoke to at Jantar Mantar said delivery personnel could not proceed beyond some barricades set up near Janpath metro station. As a result, volunteers were being forced to carry essentials to the protest site.At 4.36 pm Friday, Delhi Traffic Police, posted on X, “In view of the prohibitory orders under Section 163 BNSS, restrictions are in force in the notified area to maintain public order… app-based mobility services, ride-hailing platforms, food delivery, quick-commerce, logistics and other e-commerce services are advised to suitably regulate their operations in the notified area… Such measures may include temporary geo-fencing of the affected location or suspension of ride and delivery services to and from the notified area,” it said, adding “these measures are intended to safeguard drivers, riders, delivery parteners and general public”.At 9.17 pm, under the header ‘fake news alert’, Delhi Police posted on X, “Rumours are circulating on social media claiming that Delhi Police has imposed a ban on food delivery app services across New Delhi area. This claim is completely false, baseless and misleading.”At the health camp at Jantar Mantar, volunteer Yavan Singh Rajput, 22, carefully rationed electrolyte packets as students queued up. “Our stockpile will last till next week. Right now, we’re relying on medicines, bandages, paracetamol and sanitary napkins donated by doctors, volunteers and supporters. But with more people camping here every day, I don’t know how long we’ll manage,” he said.Volunteers were seen making repeated trips outside to procure food, water and medicines in bulk. Rajput said shortages were not the only concern. “Some of the food sent by the donors is eaten before it reaches us,” he said.He appealed to well-wishers to send supplies that don’t have a short shelf life. “Cooked food doesn’t last long. Dry ration is far more useful because we can stock it. Otherwise, much of the leftover food ends up being fed to stray dogs and cows.”In nearby Connaught Place, volunteers and protesters queued up inside eateries and grocery shops to buy essentials. Many, however, struggled to make digital payments because of the internet shutdown.Mudita, a 26-year-old PhD scholar who has been part of the protest since it began, said, “Uninterrupted delivery services had made things a little easier for us. Now, it’s a bit more difficult. However, people are going to find different ways to bring in food,” she said.
