Farmers Movement Archive

Peaceful war camp, with own guard

Singhu Border (Sonipat): They reached here on November 26 after running down barricades, crossing deep pits, and walking through water cannon and tear gas. Nearly a month on, they have put together a well-served camp and fully settled for a peaceful battle. The 10-km protest zone starts from Rai in Sonipat, where the farmers rest their tractor-trailers. The sleeping cabins are on board. The site has a makeshift library, volleyball nets, medical camps, dispensaries, langar every 100 metres, Punjabi music, gymnasium, and foot spa. In 24 hours with the farmers, TOI saw what keeps the siege going in this cold, harsh weather of Delhi. Young volunteers with Walkie-Talkie sets patrol their assigned territories. Entry stops at 8pm. They manage traffic to make way for the ambulances and update the farmers through a network of roaming loudspeakers, carried aboard the tractors that go around motivating the farmers with ‘jaikaras’. The day starts with morning bath on the road. The toiletries, including towels, are free of cost. The breakfast is at the langars. Those short of place to sleep at night can tuck inside the NGOs’ small tents. They need more mobile toilets, though. The volunteers and farmers clean the campsite but have no place to dispose of that garbage. Besides three meals, the langars also serve pizza, pinni, fruits, milk, and jalebi. The service continues all day. One sees heaps of firewood all over the area. Even the road travellers can see the farmers eating. The protesters get only safe, mineral water. The water tanks on the site serve the kitchens and washrooms. Large provision stores feed flour, rice, oil, ghee, and vegetables to the agitation. Volunteers of Khalsa Aid, Baba Harbans Singh Car Sewa Delhi, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Nirmal Sant Kutia Karnal, Delhi SGPC, and UK’s Midland Langar Sewa Society are on job. Dirty clothes? Use washing machines with spin-dry function. Some are permanent campers and some on short visits for community service or donation. Hakikat Bir Singh Bhatti, a resident of Mohali in Punjab and an MBBS intern in West Bengal, shared with TOI how professionals across the country ran social-media campaigns in support of the farmers. Bhatti came by air after adjusting his weekly day off with a colleague. Mounted Nihangs with traditional weapons guard their battlefield like knights in Sikh armour.

The Times of India

2020-12-23

Chandigarh