Farmers Movement Archive

Protesting farmers refuse to budge

Their tents are broken and leaking, rotten vegetables are strewn all over the grounds, and the mattresses are soaking wet. Yet, nothing can budge the farmers protesting the Centre’s agriculture laws at Delhi’s borders. Protest sites at Tikri, Ghazipur and Singhu border witnessed heavy rain in the early hours of Monday. The farmers, however, said that no extreme weather can deter their will to continue the agitation. Jagseer Singh, the district president of Bharatiya Kisan Union from Barnala, who has been protesting at the Tikri border said that it started raining around 2 a.m. on Monday. “The tarpaulins, which protect the tents from the rains, were put up months ago. They are not equipped to hold rainwater, due to which most of them came down, resulting in water inside the tents,” he said. Sukhbir Singh from Patiala said, “Vegetables that were stored inside a trolley specially designed for them remained safe. But the rest along with the flour was destroyed. Cooking remained a big problem all through Monday.” He added that people spent the night on wet mattresses, “many protestors are lodging in wet trucks and trolleys”. Sukhwinder Singh Barwa from Ropar, who has been protesting at the Singhu border and is a member of Sanjhi Sathh – an initiative by protesters to help children study at the border – said water reached up to two feet on Monday. “It was impossible to walk. Many elderly people couldn’t get out of their trolleys for breakfast or lunch in the morning. We arranged food for them and delivered it in their trolleys,” he said.

The Hindu

2021-07-20

NEW DELHI