By IANS,
New Delhi : It was a busy Sunday for the food kiosk owners at Jantar Mantar as swelling crowds thronged the venue of Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare’s fast here Sunday. The owners did brisk business.
“All the kiosks here remain shut Sunday. But we decided to keep them open when we got to know about Ramdev and Anna Hazare’s fast,” Mukesh Hasija, a kiosk owner at Jantar Mantar, told IANS.
“We knew there would hundreds of people coming. And the business has been brisk since morning,” Hasija added.
Launching a joint agitation against corruption and black money, yoga guru Ramdev and anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare started a day-long fast. The fast has been called to mark one year of Ramdev’s last agitation at Ramlila ground, from where he was arrested in the middle of the night between June 3 and 4 last year.
From sumptuous plates of rajma chawal to juice glasses – the supporters wanted to try everything on the platter. The feast brought quick money for food stalls who otherwise provide lunch to the government offices in the vicinity.
“We don’t even make this much money on weekdays when office employees come here. I had to keep an extra man at my stall because the demand for food went up suddenly after 12,” said Dheeraj, a chhole-kulche stall owner at Parliament Street.
“I have also brought soft drink crates to sell, which I don’t do usually,” Dheeraj added.
Some attributed it all to the ‘experience’ of having attended previous fasts because of which they knew that food and water would be needed.
“I was here at the fast in April last year. At that time, ice creams were in great demand,” Praveen Singh, an ice cream seller, told IANS.
“Although this is only for a day, but the sale has been good,” he added.