Farmers Movement Archive

Trailer park springs up on Delhi-Chandigarh highway

NEW DELHI: The police thought they were stopping the farmers from Punjab and Haryana at Singhu border from entering Delhi. Now the shoe is on the other foot. They are refusing to move, and it’s a veritable blockade on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway. There are few takers for the Burari grounds, about 20 km away. With each passing hour, more and more tractor-trolleys are arriving and the caravan is now stretching over a huge distance. As the numbers grow, the morale of the protesters remains high. At a marathon meeting of more than 30 farmer groups and unions on Saturday evening, it was decided that they will remain stationed at the border, at least for another night. Rakesh Bains, Bharatiya Kisan Union (H) spokesman, said that all unions have decided to spend the night at the same site and another meeting has been called for Sunday morning to decide the course of action. Harinder Singh, BKU general secretary, Punjab, said they were not going anywhere till their demands were met. “We will meet at 11 am every day to discuss our strategy,” he added. Meanwhile, the busy highway looks like a township which has sprung up at a parking lot, a big trailer park of sorts. Thousands of modified tractor-trolleys with all the basic living necessities are randomly stationed on the expressway, as far as the eye can see. Each tractor carries 15-20 people from a village in Punjab. These are loaded with hookahs, beddings, quilts, gas cylinders, stoves and utensils. There are water tankers and ration trucks too. The farmers say they have supplies to last them for several weeks. Jaswinder Singh, a 50-year-old farmer from Fatehgarh, said he has brought 13 people from his village on his tractor. “People ask don’t we fear corona? These farm laws are much worse than corona. They will finish our future generations. We have come prepared with food for months and we will not go back without securing our future,” he added. Teja Singh, 70, from Nabha said he has told his children that he will not turn back unless the demands of the farmers are met. “The government should give us the guaranty of MSP and the three anti-farmer laws should be withdrawn,” he remarked. On Saturday afternoon, several farmers could be seen preparing a langar, some were sleeping under the shadows cast by the tractor-trolleys or on beds made of stubble, some others were reading Punjabi newspapers while some chose to join a huddle to discuss the issues confronting them. A yellow-green John Deere tractor served as a stage from where speeches were being made all through the day. Meanwhile, many youngsters were busy making videos for social media and Punjabi channels. Several trucks of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) have also started a langar service. Raminder Singh, a member of the committee, said that there will be food for 40,000 people if the need arose. Sanitation is, however, a different story. The waste from disposable plates has already started accumulating in piles, which are an eyesore and toilets are nowhere to be found. Surender Litani of BKU’s Hisar unit said the government should immediately provide mobile toilets and water. “If the administration can do it for political rallies, why not for farmers? He pointed out that all the shops along the road were closed. The day passed off peacefully and there was no confrontation with the police — in fact a group of young volunteers armed with sticks are keeping the farmers away from the buffer zone of barbed wire — but anger simmers below the surface. Karnail Singh, pradhan of Dadiana village in Fatehgarh, said that they had not braved all those obstacles on the way to get grounded at Burari. “Our mandis are being destroyed and the system that has secured our livelihood for decades is being changed without our consent. If we stay here, we will succeed in getting our demands met,” he added.

The Times of India

2020-11-29

Delhi