Supporters across India send food via delivery apps to sustain the ‘Cockroach’ protest

NEW DELHI (AP) — The food arrives almost as steadily as the protesters.

Every few minutes, delivery riders on motorbikes pull up outside the protest site with bags of burgers, snacks and bottled water. Volunteers collect the food, stack it along other donated supplies and distribute it to demonstrators.

Supporters across India are helping sustain the country’s “Cockroach” movement by ordering meals through online food delivery apps for protesters camped in the capital. The steady stream of food has become a visible sign of the growing support for a youth movement that has emerged as one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in years.

Many contributors have never set foot at the protest site in New Delhi and don’t know each other. Instead, they send meals directly to the demonstrators, often instructing delivery riders to hand them to any protester they see.

Shakti Vashisth, 24, sees every food delivery as a reminder that the protest extends far beyond those camped on the streets. Each meal, she said, is a sign of support from someone who cannot be there in person.

“There are a lot of people that I can understand might not be able to come here, but they are sending their love,” she said.

The “Cockroach” movement, which started over repeated leaks of high-stakes medical college and government job entrance examinations, and led to some committing suicide, has expanded into a broader call for government accountability, drawing thousands to demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in New Delhi that has become the movement’s base.

Demonstrators at the protest site have stood their ground despite a major crackdown on Monday when police used tear gas and batons to stop them from marching toward Parliament. The violence fueled public anger and the crowds now extend beyond students, with young professionals, parents and others joining the sit-in.

Now, the growing crowd needs sustenance and the steady flow of donations helps sustain the protest camp. From home-style Indian meals to pizza, burgers and other fast food, volunteers hand out meals and bottles of water to protesters.

The support has been staggering, with protest organizers asking people to stop sending food orders as they have begun to exceed the number of protesters on site.

“The amount of food coming in is overwhelming. It’s difficult to even keep count,” said Bhoomi Kapoor, a volunteer.

Motorbike courier Neg Singh said he had already made 19 trips to the protest site. On one run, he picked up 70 pizzas, an order so large it took three delivery riders to carry it through the crowds. The order was placed from someone in Noida city, some 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from the protest site.

For Singh, the protest has brought more than extra work. It has also drawn him into the movement itself.

“We also feel deeply connected to this protest. We support it wholeheartedly,” he said.

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Associated Press reporter Verda Subzwari contributed to this report.