Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers keep chin up despite rain woes

After a heavy downpour since Monday night, protesting farmers at the Singhu border found ways to protect themselves — digging roads to clear clogged water, pumping out water from over tarpaulins using their hands and bordering their tents using sand. Monday night was tougher for the protesters as compared to other days. Balwinder Singh (58), resident of Moga, said that he was lying on the mattress put on the road under a blue-coloured tarpaulin when it started raining. “Water started seeping through and the blankets got wet. We covered ourselves with a cloth when we went to eat dinner,” he said, adding that a few “good souls” came and handed us charpoys, thick black tarpaulin and langar to those who needed. ‘Not here for picnic’ “ Picnic ke liye nahi aaye hain. Majboori hain . [We are not here for picnic. We’re forced into this],” said Parminder Singh standing next to Mr. Balwinder. Sukhchain Singh, 67, pointing towards the holes in a plastic sheet, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to look at the conditions in which women and children are living there. “But it’s okay, we don’t have any problem living like this”. Couldn’t sleep all night, said Amarjeet Singh from Haryana’s Kaithal, while showing soaked blankets. On Tuesday afternoon, he and other fellow farmers sat under a makeshift tent while it still rained. “If we won’t get more blankets, then four of us will share one,” he said. Darbjit Singh, 29, from Nawan Shahr who shares a tent with 20 others came up with an idea to save their shelter from water. They bordered it with sand. “We made a border with elevated sand on Tuesday morning so that water doesn’t seep into our tents and beds. We’ve also put wood underneath our mattresses,” he said. But for Hardev Singh (37) and Virender Singh (26), both residents of Ludhiana, the loss was more than blankets and mattresses. They lost kilos of vegetables, pulses and rice. “Rice, pulses, raddish and peas were lying in the open. Everything got wasted,” said Mr. Virender, adding that tarpaulin also broke because of the wind. On Tuesday, road was also seen being dug up to clear the clogged water in an attempt to steer it aside. To ensure protesters don’t get drenched while attending the speeches at the main stage, a waterproof tent was being put up near the stage.

The Hindu

2021-01-06

NEW DELHI