Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers install signboard of village, district outside camps

Tribune News ServiceJhajjar, February 14Punjab farmers camping on the 12-km stretch on the Rohtak-Delhi highway from Jakhoda bypass to Tikri for the past two-and-half months have put up signboards outside their camps on the name of their village and district.It has been done so that their co-villagers and other acquaintances don’t have to face any inconvenience in locating them.As per reports, more than 100 such signboards within the distance of 50m have been put up at the protest site at Bahadurgarh-Tikri border.Farmers reaching Tikri by trainA considerable number of farmers from Punjab are daily reaching Tikri by train. They de-board the train in Bahadurgarh city and take autorickshaws. Now, the autos easily drop them at the camp of their village with the help of signboards. — Lakhvinder Singh, Muktsar farmerSignificantly, the names of the Punjab villages have also been written by hand on the milestones installed on the highway. The farmers say they have brought the signboards from their villages.“The insensitive attitude of the Centre towards our demands has forced us to spend a long time here. Hence, we have had to place a signboard of our village/district outside our camp because co-villagers and other visitors were finding it difficult to trace us amid the crowd of farmers. Now, our acquaintances are easily reaching us with the help of such boards,” said Balwinder Singh, a farmer from Patiala.Lakhvinder Singh from Muktsar said the signboards were also proving helpful to autorickshaws. “A considerable number of farmers from Punjab are daily reaching Tikri by train. They de-board the train in Bahadurgarh city and take autorickshaws. Now, the autos easily drop them at the camp of their village with the help of signboards,” he added.Baldev Singh of Bhucho Kalan village (Bathinda) said they had also given numbers to the electricity poles installed at the divider of the national highway so that they could easily convey their camp’s location to the visitors.“Initially, fellow farmers had to waste a lot of time in reaching the camp of their village as there was no identification mark nearby, but now, a visitor can easily trace the camp following the installation of signboards along the highway,” he added.Gurpal of Sangrur said the signboards not only gave them a feeling of their village but also made them think that they were still staying in Punjab as the signboards of Punjab villages had been placed all around.

The Tribune

2021-02-15