Farmers Movement Archive

Foot soldiers who stayed put at Uttar Pradesh Gate for a year

GHAZIABAD: “I have been to my village only thrice in the past 11 months, that too due to health reasons. None of the visits lasted more than three-four days,” said Ravindra Daurleya, a 78-year-old farmer from Meerut who came to the UP Gate protest site in the first week of December last year and has stayed at the spot since then. “This is a do-or-die battle. If we do not fight today, our children will have no future. I was convinced the farm laws were not good for us, so I was determined to see this through. I’m happy that the protests have reached their logical end,” the farmer told TOI, hours after the PM announced on Friday morning that the three agriculture laws will be repealed. During his time at UP Gate, Daurleya developed a special bond with Sheru, a stray who was his constant companion. “Sheru stayed with me all these months and even slept with me in my tent,” he said. Daurleya is one of the few protesters who have been consistently present at UP Gate since November 26 last year, the day the agitation began. They have braved the winter chill, summer heat and the rains to stay put at the protest site with a steely resolve. Ram Kumar Sharma, a farmer from west UP who has been staying in Nithari for the past few years, was a permanent fixture too. “I have been part of the protests since November last year. I am entrusted with the responsibility of attending to the kitchen and distributing food to farmers, which I am doing till this day and will continue doing till the protest is officially called off,” he said. Ramesh Malik, a farmer from Muzaffarnagar’s Kazi Khera, said, “My wife Nira can now heave a sigh of relief. It seems like ages since I’ve been home, but this place has become a second home to me. I had even started growing vegetables by the side of the expressway.” Pintu Biswas from Ghazipur, who is another familiar face at the protest site, had initially come to lend support to the agitation but ended up opening a stall for daily items to cater to the farmers’ needs. “I realised that farmers had to go a long way to buy things in the winter, so I decided to set up a stall where I sold towels and other items. Later, demand grew and I started offering Tikait caps, T-shirts and badges at a reasonable rate. I contributed to the farmers’ cause in whatever little way I could,” said Biswas.

The Times of India

2021-11-20

Ghaziabad