As rain battered the Capital since Wednesday, protesting farmers, who have been lodged for the last six months at the Singhu border, spent their nights trying to clear the sewage water from their langar premises.
Sharing their experience since the last three days, Sukhwinder Singh Barwa from Ropar said that it’s been very tough for the last three days.
“We have been spending sleepless nights. There are drains on both sides of the road and the drainage system has proved to be a failure in this rain. Drains were overflowing and our food and mattresses were floating in sewage water,” he said.
Repair drainage system
He also said that youth at the protest site have gathered and are planning to repair the drainage system herein. “On Friday night and before that, we had to dig the drains and force the water off the roads. But a permanent solution will be reached,” he said.
“This was just a trailer. Monsoon hasn’t even reached Delhi yet,” he said.
Another protester, Bharpur Singh (38) from Patiala, said that the government — by maintaining silence — has prepared them for the worst. “The last three days with unbelievable and unpredictable rain is an eye-opener for us. We’ll be better prepared for the monsoon,” he said.
Mr. Singh said that he himself, along with hundred others, spent the night clearing the water off the roads and tents. “Garbage, filth and stagnant water submerged the entire place. All the mattresses and clothes were then cleaned and left to dry on Saturday,” he said.
Request dodged
Protesters said that they had written to the Sonipat administration regarding the water problem but they had dodged the request. “The drainage problem impacts Kundli village and they have their own mechanism to deal with it. But since the administration is not doing anything, we might make this a better place to live,” he said.
He said that raw material kept for langars including, tomatoes in bulk were destroyed. However, a few protesters brought more with them and distributed on Saturday.
Other diseases
Avtar Singh who runs the makeshift hospital at Singhu border protest site said that they first managed to save all the equipment quickly and then drained out the water. “It’s not just COVID-19 which can infect people. There’s also malaria and dengue which can spread here due to filth and stagnant water,” he said.
Farmer leaders on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking the government to resume talks but also maintained that the demands remain the same.
