Farmers Movement Archive

Supporters in Punjab help keep the fire alive at Delhi border

Quintals of woods neatly stacked every few metres have become a common sight at the Singhu border protest site. The farmers and their supporters have been using them to light fires for cooking as well as to beat the winter chill at night. From Punjab But how does the wood reach the Capital? Baljinder Singh, a resident of Rauke Kalan village in Moga district— shared how he brought 100 quintals of cut wood from his village to the protest site at the crack of dawn — around 3 a.m. on Monday — after a 12-hour truck-ride. Mr. Baljinder received a call from his villagers protesting here for wood — one of many such calls made back home by the protesters here at the Capital’s borders. “As soon as I got the call, I gathered a few boys and told them that we need to collect wood. Three trolleys set out for the work,” he said. Nineteen-year-old Jaswinder Singh, who is pursuing industrial training, drove one of the trolleys around the streets of the village and knocked on each and every door, requesting them to donate wood. “We told them that our brothers here in Delhi are protesting against the government for our rights and they need the wood for food. People gave us as much they could — 5kg or 50kg, depending on their means,” he said. The villagers use wood from old trees in farm fields for their chulha (stove). Recalling an incident with a 95-year-old woman in the village, Mr. Balwinder said when she found out the reason behind the requirement of wood, her eyes welled up and she requested to be taken along. “She could not come because of her age,” he added. After collecting wood in three trolleys from each household in the village of about 7,000 people, Mr. Balwinder and his two friends went to get it chopped in a town — Nihal Singh Wala — which is 15kms from the village. The wood was then shifted to a truck. “We left the village at 3 p.m. on Wednesday and reached here about 3 a.m. on Thursday,” Mr. Balwinder said.

The Hindu

2020-12-15

NEW DELHI