Farmers Movement Archive

Worried farmers at Delhi's Singhu Border take steps to secure site

NEW DELHI: The clashes on Friday have led to an atmosphere of unease and fear at Singhu Border. A volunteer, Harjinder Singh, claimed they were worried and scared. “We cook our food in the open and there are many old people present here. There is a tent which has a large number of women. When the commotion started, our only focus was to make sure that these women get a safe passage.” He said with the police erecting new barricades, they were losing out on space. “We too are residents of this country but it pains us to see how we are being treated. The police claim we attacked them but we were just defending ourselves when our property was getting damaged,” said another protester, who wished to remain anonymous. He claimed that 20 of their fellow protesters were injured in the violence and were taken away for medical care. With the new barricading in place, some protesters like Tej Bahadur Singh spoke to the police officers. “We want to tell the police that none of our men will do anything but the police should also assure us that they will be here to protect us. I want to tell the police that we are all here to make sure that there is no violence at our end.” The langar damaged in the attack had begun to prepare food later during the day. “The feeding of people and seva does not stop here. We will continue doing that without any fear,” said Joginder Singh, who was working at the langar. The farmers are saying they will be more vigilant now and look after their own security. Manpreet Singh, a young protester, was one of the volunteers who tied up sticks to form a gate where several protesters maintained vigil. “We will not let any person enter the protest site as we do not want a repeat of this incident. Our older folks will now be shifted further inside to keep them safe,” he said.

The Times of India

2021-01-30

Delhi