Farmers Movement Archive

53-year-old ‘daredevil rider’ beats chill to reach Singhu border

SINGHU BORDER (SONIPAT): While many may not think of leaving quilt in the current chilly weather, 53-year-old Gurjit Singh, a native of Jhampur in Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab, reached the Singhu border half-naked on his motorcycle bike to express solidarity with the protesting farmers. Singh, who is an NRI and returned from the US two years ago after earning “sufficiently” to live in Punjab, rode to the protest site wearing only a vest to support farmers’ movement. Singh’s entire family is in the US but he shifted to his native village Jhampur in Anandpur Sahib where he has around 11 acre family land. He keeps touring on his motorcycle. “When I saw on social media about people sleeping in trolleys under extreme cold conditions, I decided to extend them some moral support by visiting them only wearing a vest. Though my gesture may be symbolic, it was an attempt to boost their morale as they are doing selfless service for the entire farming community,” he added. According to Gurjit Singh, he reached Singhu border in around five-and-a-half hours after covering around 240 km. He only had a small halt for tea and finished his journey late on Saturday evening. “I did not feel cold and realised that something was protecting me. I would say it was a miracle as I was prepared for any adverse impact on my health,” he said. After reaching the protest site, he got himself medically examined at one of the medical camps here and was found completely fit with all normal health parameters. He has decided to stay with the protesters for a few days. According to Gurjit, riding is his passion as for around 20 years he had worked abroad and used to drive trucks. He had finally settled in Fremont, California, USA, with his entire family. “Though I have given land on lease, my existence is because of the land left by my forefathers. Since now ‘kisani’ is in danger, I am with farmers at this time of crisis,” he concluded.

The Times of India

2020-12-23

Chandigarh