Farmers Movement Archive

Calm at Singhu border after R-Day storm

Two days after the tractor parade culminated into violence, the Singhu border on Thursday bore a relatively empty look with many of the vehicles missing in pockets along the highway. Prakat Singh, a farmer from Amritsar, who has been at the protest site for over a month now, said: “The few empty spaces does not mean that people have left. The number of people who are currently present here at the border is the same as what it was before. The people who had come specifically for the tractor parade have left. That is the reason why the space looks a bit empty. The new tractors which are coming in are getting parked either on the other end of protest site or on the other side of the road.” ‘Won’t leave site’ Some of the farmers also reasoned that many of their group members had to return to their respective villages due to personal issues. Gurjeet Singh, a farmer from Patiala, said: “When we came to the border, there were 20 of us but now, only five of us have remained. But we are determined to continue staying at the border till the laws are repealed.” Several of the langar facilities also bore a deserted look even though the volunteers maintained that the footfall had dipped compared to the last week but not to what it was initially. A volunteer at one of the langars, said: “...we are continuing with the sewa as usual.” Even facilities like the Kisaan Mall, which had come up over the course of the two-month-long protest, was closed. Volunteers present at the Khalsa Aid kiosk, however, said it had been shut “for a couple of days due to the unrest” but would reopen soon.

The Hindu

2021-01-29

NEW DELHI