After Flag-off: Yatra visits 22 villages in 24 hours!

After flagging off at Sabarmati Ashram, the Yatra fanned out in 4 teams setting off in different directions. Under the meticulous planning by Kapil-bhai and associates from various groups, the four teams visited 22 villages by the end of Oct 3rd! It was a day of extensive interactions with farmers, and the message of the Kisan Swaraj Yatra was spread loud and wide in Rajkot and Surendranagar districts of Saurashtra (3 teams) and
Gandhinagar and Mehsana districts of North Gujarat (1 team).

The Yatra message reverberated through the villages with slogans such as “Kisan Swaraj Yatra ki yehi sandesh, Hamare Beej Hamara Desh!”, “Kisan ki majbooti, Desh ki majbooti!” The Yatris were welcomed everywhere affectionately by village teams of children singing songs and dancing, and women presenting each Yatri with flowers, bajra, jowar and other grains.

In Bhonyera village of Rajkot district, after intense discussions with Punjab farmers about the health and agricultural crisis being faced due to chemical agriculture, 20 women farmers and 10 men farmers resolved to move to organic agriculture – many of them from Bt cotton to non-Bt cotton. In Laldavar village, the Yatris visited the farm of an inspiring local couple Chagan-bhai and Saakar-ben, where they grow groundnut, sugarcane, bajra and many vegetables. Similar enriching interactions happened across the 22 villages.