At Ramlila ground, corruption of another kind

Ramlila Maidan may have become the symbol of protest against corruption, but some of those camping at the venue of Anna Hazare's fast for the past ten days claim they are fighting graft of a different kind.

Despite being committed to the main cause, some people at the ground supporting the anti-corruption crusader, have no respite from problems they are facing on a daily basis there.

"What corruption you are talking about. They say they are volunteering by distributing free food and water to everyone who is coming in. Yesterday, I was asked by them to give two Anna caps for free to get food. Isn't it corruption?" asked Harish, a street vendor dealing in Anna caps, who left his traditional business of book binding to make money in this "Anna" wave.

He is not the only vendor with a complaint. Sonu, another vendor who sells flags, complained that somebody fled with his 20 tricolours, while he was taking a nap last night.

"I found my whole lot of 20 flags stolen when I woke up today. We are hand-to-mouth persons. This comes as a huge blow for us," says a dejected Sonu, who hails from Bihar.

Ramdeyi, another vendor from Rajasthan, has her own problem.

"Even amid this, people don't refrain from bargaining. We have to give them discount even in a Rs10 cap. They ask for rebate when they buy it in a bunch, and we are not left with any option," says Ramdeyi, adding that it is not smooth going as there is a lot of competetion with so many vendors doing the same business around.