Farmers Made Brilliant Use Of Solar Panels To Charge Phones During Their March To Mumbai

About 40,000 farmers began their silent march from Nashik to Mumbai, covered a distance of 180 km to make their voices heard. Their demands are simple – unconditional waiver of loans and electricity bills, as well as fulfilling the many promises made to them over the years.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgN8SstlqhH/?tagged=farmersmarchtomumbai

Amidst all of this, what caught my eye was that several farmers were wearing unusual headgears. It looked like they were carrying tablets on their heads with wires attached to it.

Turns out, these farmers were using solar chargers to keep their phones charged on their long march to Mumbai. Not just that, they were sharing it with their peers and helping them to keep their phones on too.

The farmers travelled without electricity for days & they couldnt charge their phones but Lakshman Bhasre from Trimbakeshwar deployed a tiny solar panel on his head to charge & has also provided plug points to fellow farmers. #KisanLongMarch #FarmersMarchToMumbai @Shehla_Rashid pic.twitter.com/P8VgtXVTeV

— Vivashwan Singh (@VivashwanSingh) March 12, 2018

It is so overwhelming to see them making such good use of solar power. After all, they spend their days out in the scorching heat, it is only understandable that they know the value of solar energy better than we do.

Photos: The #LongMarch under the blazing sun left farmers drained – but kept their mobiles charged https://t.co/4yZfnfN1MB#FarmersMarchToMumbai pic.twitter.com/tVI1Yyrmxu

— scroll.in (@scroll_in) March 12, 2018

The farmers marched during the night to avoid traffic issues. They decided to reach Azad Maidan at 6 a.m to avoid causing any inconvenience to children going for their board exams.

Farmers marched through the night to avoid inconvenience to exam-taking students. And here, we, the middle & upper middle class have seceded into a country of our own preoccupations. Perhaps this will finally jolt us into sensitivity #KisanLongMarch #FarmersMarchToMumbai https://t.co/tIUhp1mahc

— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) March 12, 2018

These farmers using solar chargers only goes on to prove that they can be as much as or even better than us urban-middle class people when it comes to surviving the harshest of situations. Their struggle is not theirs alone, and we must all stand in solidarity with them in their fight this time.