Farmers Movement Archive

No plan to enter Delhi, Singhu stays peaceful

NEW DELHI: Amidst heavy security, the protesting farmers’ chakka jam on Saturday passed off peacefully at the Singhu border, even as hundreds of new tractors reached the site. The Tricolour was prominent at the border on Saturday, being proudly held up alongside the banners of the farmers’ unions and the Sikh standard, the Nishan Sahib. The protesters kept to their word that they had no intention of entering Delhi. “Each and every farmer is involved in this fight against the central government and the support we are seeing from other states will be very significant,” said Jaspal Singh, a farmer from Rajpura who has been at the protest site since November last year. “The Centre will eventually have to accept this and listen to our demands.” In a tent where a television connection is available, farmers sat glued to the screen, watching how the chakka jam was unfolding in different states. “Our job today is to sit here and hope the event is successful. It appears the blockade is faring well,” said Balbir Singh of Sangrur, Punjab. There was plenty of cheer for the agitators at the langars, including the winter specialities of makki ki roti and sarson da saag, and, of course, jalebi, kheer and moong dal halwa. Police deployment at Singhu stretched to Mukarba Chowk, one of the clash sites on Republic Day. While the cops, who were prepared to prevent any movement into Delhi by the farmers stood firmly in riot gear, the protesters focused on the local chakka jam. “We already have a chakka jam here,” pointed out Shamsher Singh of Kurukshetra, Haryana. “We did not want to enter Delhi, but are very happy at the response to our call in other states.” Almost each of the new tractors that arrived on Saturday held aloft the tricolour and sported stickers bearing the words “We Support Farmers”, distributed by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. Volunteer Jagdeep Singh said over 5,000 stickers were being distributed each day. “They have different slogans on them, both in English and Punjabi. Even people only visiting the border have taken the stickers in solidarity with the farmers.” Teja Singh of Punjab’s Sangrur said he had been at the protest site from the start. “We are not being inconvenienced and we will not leave,” he declared. “The government is trying to block our routes and restrict internet access, but it does not bother us.”

The Times of India

2021-02-07

Delhi