Ground Report: Bharat Jodo Yatra in Telangana: Day 1 sees 20,000 'yatris' take part

Hyderabad: The first day of Bharat Jodo Yatra in Telangana's Mahabubnagar saw 20,000 people join in. Senior state leaders, including Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Revanth Reddy, Uttam Kumar Reddy, and Balram Naik, joined the yatra.

From Delhi, Jairam Ramesh and his social media team, who are coordinating with state-level workers, participated.

A camp has been set up at Makthal in Mahabubnagar district with tents for resting, food courts, and bio-toilets. There are separate camps for leaders and workers. There are also beds for registered yatris.

Swaraj India has sent its civil society volunteers in big numbers to participate in the yatra in Telangana.

Former Union minister for social justice Balram Naik is in-charge of the arrangements. "Those registered online and via the state unit have been issued passes and are being provided food, refreshments, and a place to rest during the halt," he said.

There is a huge spread of food, fruits, and sweets.

Special turmeric milk for yatris

The yatris get tired from walking all day. Dr. Renu Yadav from Haryana, who is part of the yatra from Karnataka, said, "Rahul Gandhi walks very fast. It takes time to catch up to him. The organisers are serving hot turmeric milk at night which helps." She advised all new yatris who join from TS to savour it as it will help them stay fit.

Heat has everyone on edge

On the first day of the yatra, it was cold in the morning but after 10 a.m, it became hot. By noon, the scorching heat had everyone staying indoors in the camps.

Afternoon meetings with people

Afternoon meetings are held in the camps with different groups from weaker sections of society. On the first day, a meeting was held with tenants and women farmers. Their grievances and representations were heard by Rahul Gandhi. Each day, different groups will make their representations.

Evening yatra

The yatra starts every evening at 4 p.m and continues for 12 km.

Passes cause confusion

There was confusion on the first day as only those who had passes were allowed inside the camp. Many villagers stood outside waiting as they did not have passes. Even Congress party workers didn't get passes and due to that, there was a problem. Many party workers came in the evening to join the yatra due to this reason.