Farmers Movement Archive

Packing up with a bitter-sweet feeling; farmers say seems like leaving one home for another

NEW DELHI: Farmer Princepal Singh turned emotional while overseeing the last lot of laundry in the washing machines put up at Singhu border on Friday afternoon. Later, while loading the six machines on a tractor-trolley to take home, Singh recalled how he had initially purchased two washing machines to help the elderly protesters before realising others needed the facility too. “Our sewa here has been to wash the clothes of farmers and the locals without a break since December 9,” smiled Princepal. “Today, on the last day of sewa at Singhu, I have a bittersweet feeling. This place had become another home for us and we formed a brotherly bond with many other farmers.” Princepal, who completed 366 days at the protest site on Friday, plans to keep these washing machines at his village as a memorial of the farmers’ agitation and to inspire future generation of farmers. Like the farmer-launderer, others too were busy dismantling tents and huts and packing their belongings in preparation for leaving the Singhu border on Saturday morning. Pointing to his shack, one of whose sides was already dismantled, Mahinder Singh, 65, of Patiala described his feeling as one akin to leaving one home for another. “Though we are elated that our demands have been met, I feel sad about leaving this place as it had become a home away from home for us. We became friends with the local shopkeepers, all of whom supported our cause.” Mahinder, who has been at the border for nearly a year, organised a langar of tea and snacks on Friday. He said, “When we arrived here on November 26 last year, we never imagined having to stay put for such a long time. But as time went on, we brought refrigerators, fans, inverters and air conditioners. I even started growing radish. I am going to miss all my other plants too.” Jaspal Singh said he would bring down the lodgings he had created at the protest site by Friday night and join the victory march on Saturday morning. Nearby, Mohali farmer Bhupinder Singh, pulling down his tent and loading mattress and iron rods on a tractor-trolley, said, “All the items that we used over a year have gain a new value because they will always remind us about our year-long struggle. We do not want to part with them or leave them behind.” He added if a situation arose in the future, when they or someone else had to sit in protest, these items would be needed again. Though most farmers will leave for home on Saturday, some of them departed on Friday. Uddham Singh, who ran a langar for around 370 days, was one of them. “Friday’s lunch was the last meal we prepared because we are leaving for our village in Gurdaspur by evening,” he said. Many organisations that put up kiosks to assist the farmers are also going away soon. Parvinder Singh, volunteer at the temporary eight-bed hospital, said, “We will discontinue hospital services after all the farmers leave Singhu border. To manage any emergency, we will remain here till then.”

The Times of India

2021-12-11

Delhi