Since the heavy downpour on Monday morning, protesting farmers at the Singhu border have found ways to protect themselves from the rain by digging up roads to clear clogged water, removing water from tarpaulins using their hands and placing sandbags near their tents.
Balwinder Singh, 58, a resident of Moga, said he was lying on a mattress placed on the road under a tarpaulin when it started raining on Monday morning.
“Water started seeping through and the blankets got wet. We covered ourselves with a cloth when we went to eat dinner,” he said, adding that a few “good souls” handed them charpoys as well as a thick black tarpaulin, and also langar to those who needed it.
‘Not here for picnic’
“ Picnic ke liye nahi aaye hain. Majboori hain . [We are not here for a picnic. We’re forced into this],” said Parminder Singh, standing next to Mr. Balwinder.
Sukhchain Singh, 67, pointing towards the holes in a plastic sheet, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to look at the conditions in which women and children are living there. “But it’s okay, we don’t have any problem living like this”.
Couldn’t sleep all night, said Amarjeet Singh from Haryana’s Kaithal, while showing soaked blankets.
On Tuesday afternoon, he and other fellow farmers sat under a makeshift tent while it rained. “If we don’t get more blankets, then the four of us will share one,” he said.
Darbjit Singh, 29, from Nawan Shahr, who shares a tent with 20 others, came up with an idea to save their shelter from water. They bordered it with sand.
“We made a border with elevated sand on Tuesday morning so that water doesn’t seep into our tents and beds. We have also put wood underneath our mattresses,” he said.
But for Hardev Singh, 37, and 26-year-old Virender Singh, both residents of Ludhiana, the loss was more than just blankets and mattresses. They lost kilos of vegetables, pulses and rice.
“Rice, pulses, radish and peas were lying in the open. Everything got wasted,” said Mr. Virender, adding that the tarpaulin also broke because of the wind.
On Tuesday, some of the road were dug up to clear the clogged water.
To ensure protesters don’t get drenched while attending the speeches at the main stage, a waterproof tent has been put up near the stage.
