4 youths from Bengal leave for Delhi on foot to support farmers' protest

Kolkata: Moved by the plight of the farmers, 3 men and a woman have been on foot since December 28 as they marched towards Delhi for expressing solidarity with the agitating farmers at the Singhu border. They embarked on the journey to participate in the agitation.

The activists are all residents of Bajeshipur in Howrah. They include 41-year-old Joyraj Bhattacharjee, a 23-year-old student of Jadavpur University Soumyaranjan Mukherjee, 27-year-old film enthusiast Aniyan Roy and a 38-year-old IT professional Piyali Chatterjee.

They are opposing the new farm laws. According to Joyraj Bhattacharjee, they have walked through Jharkhand and Bihar after crossing West Bengal. On average, they walk for 30 kms during the day. Now, they are planning to take a train to Uttar Pradesh to avoid any arrests. "We were being advised by various Left leaders not to walk through Uttar Pradesh or else they might be arrested by the Yogi Adityanath government. So, we have decided to take a train to visit UP," they said. "Farmers from various parts of India have started walking from distant states such as Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu to join the movement. During our journey, we tried to make people aware about the adverse impacts of the farm laws. We also participate in the street corner meetings organised by the Left parties in protest against the farm laws," they added.

On their way to Durgapur, they met the CPI (M)'s sitting MLA Santosh Debray and Forward block former Rajya Sabha MP Jayanta Roy. "They told us to intensify our agitation and supported us," Bhattacharjee added.

The activists have received support from members of All India Kisan Sabha in Jharkhand and Bihar.