A sugarcane juice vendor at Kargil Chowk in Patna on Friday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, June 17: Move over R-Block, Kargil Chowk is the city’s latest hot spot to stage dharnas and protests.

The demands of the protesters here might fall on deaf ears but the demand for refreshments like ice creams and fruit juices are met promptly by roadside vendors who rake in moolah, courtesy the hustle and bustle in the area.

While innumerable protesters love to sit on dharna and shout at the top of their voice, the roadside vendors — the sugarcane juice seller, the coconut seller and the ice cream seller — wait quietly for them to get exhausted and use their services.

On a given day, Kargil Chowk plays host to at least three to four protests and business is always good, claim the vendors. Not only does their business touch the roof but it also attracts other vendors to come over and do business here.

Pankaj Kumar, a vendor who sells sugarcane juice at Kargil Chowk, said: “This place has been really good and we are minting money. Moreover, in summer, people love to drink sugarcane juice. At the time of protests, the people who come here have at least two to three glasses of juice. On normal days, I do a business of around Rs 200 a day but on days when people stage dharnas here, I earn around Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000. It is quite a big amount for me.”

Pankaj added: “The people here come to us as they know they have no other refreshment option apart from sugarcane juice and coconut water. Few months ago, when I came here from Meethapur, I was working on my own. But soon, I realised the demand on the days of dharnas and protests was too much for one person to handle and I had to get a man to help me serve a number of people at a time.”

Coconut water seller Sunil Kumar has also been doing brisk business at Kargil Chowk, courtesy the trustworthy protests.

On his business at the hea-rt of the city, Sunil said: “This is a golden place to work. My business has been very good. Earlier, I used to do business at Gardanibagh and had to struggle to get a spot here. At Gardanibagh, I hardly used to earn anything but ever since I have shifted here, I am making a profit of Rs 300 per day, which is quite satisfactory.”

He added: “Every other day, some non-government organisation or political party sits on dharna here and whenever they get tired of giving speeches, they come to us to regain their energy. The only problem that we have to face is the traffic police but now, even they have understood that we are doing brisk business. So they accordingly ask for their hafta. Earlier, we used to give them Rs 50 but now they demand Rs 100. We don’t mind — at least, they are allowing us to do business here.”

Earlier, the state govern-ment had earmarked Hartali More on Bailey Road for protesters to hold dharnas but because of traffic snarls in the area the administration shifted the venue to R-Block, making it a permanent place for the agitators. However, R-Block never proved to be as profitable for vendors as Kargil Chowk which is cinemas, Regent and Mona, and Patna University.