Farmers Movement Archive

In biting cold, ‘langar of socks’ comes handy

Members of the SSA/RMSA Non-Teaching Employees’ Union, Punjab, expressed solidarity with protesting farmers by distributing socks to farmers to save them from biting cold at Singhu and Tikri borders.After spending two days at the protest site and organising a ‘langar of socks’, they returned last night.Ashish Julaha, a union member, said: “The weather is cruel these days. So, we decided to go and offer socks to farmers. We went from tractor to tractor and offered socks to the elderly farmers and women at the protest sites.”He said now every weekend, members of the union would go and support farmers at the borders.The employee union members also stood at the border by holding placards with several slogans. Slogans such as ‘Je burger pizze ni khaane, te kisaan painge bachane’; ‘Shehar vaale vi jaag jaao, kisan de sangharsh vich aao’; ‘Kisan te kisani sada gehna, ede bina Punjab nahee rehna’; ‘Roti khanda har ek insan, is layi zaruri hai saade kisan’; ‘Ugaave kanak, chawal te makka, kisan naal saada saath hai pakka’ resonated at the borders.Julaha, while sharing his experience, said: “We have been protesting for our rights for the past 10 years. In these years, our own employees don’t come to the protests, but at farmer’s protest, people from all walks of life are coming. This is surreal.” He said he believed that people can survive without everything but not food, so, it was important to save farmers.Recently, a local level protest was also held by the union members. He said: “I want to sensitise urban people that whatever they eat, comes from farmers.The union members also came up with masks on which support farmers was written.

The Tribune

2020-12-15

Jalandhar