A ‘free dental camp’ that had been running from inside a bus at the Singhu border protest site since December 2 last year shut its doors on Wednesday, possibly for good.
Manjeet Singh, the driver of the bus and an employee at Jap Jee Family Clinic, and Dr. Gurpreet Singh sat in the vehicle with their luggage, mattresses, boxes of medicines, and chairs. The air-conditioned cabin they had built next to the bus has been dismantled. The men said they were disappointed with the leaders at the protest site.
Manjeet said that a protesting farmer had been attacking them for a week, and even though they had complained to the stage management committee, no action was taken. “The old man would come and accuse us of giving him fake medicines. He just wouldn’t listen to us. He was probably mentally ill. He thrashed me with a stick and broke my phone on March 30,” he said.
What really hurt the two volunteers, however, was the inaction by the protest leaders. “We showed them videos of the man but they still didn’t do anything,” Manjeet said, while asking who would be responsible if something happened to them.
“We do not wish to go but we do not have any other option. If someone gives it to us in writing that we will be taken care of then we will stay,” said Dr. Gurpreet.
He added that not a single protest leader had come to ask them whether they needed anything or had adequate food or water.
“For us, those leaders were everything, but no one ever asked if we needed any medicines or how we were operating. We did everything ourselves. We came on our own and now we are leaving on our own,” said Dr. Gurpreet, visibly disheartened.
The owner of the bus, Sunny Ahluwalia from Mohali, had come to the Singh border on November 26 and started a langar. He soon realised that the protesters also needed his dental clinic sewa . The dental camp was set up in the bus on December 2. An AC cabin was built next to the bus about a month ago as the mercury started rising.
Future plan
Dr. Ahluwalia, who was in Mohali on Wednesday, told The Hindu over the phone that they may shift the bus to a different location.
A Nihang Sikh who didn’t wish to be named also shared his disappointment with the protest leadership. “People should only donate food here and not money. We keep saying that on social media platforms. The leadership is nowhere to be seen,” he said.
Dr. Gupreet said they used to treat at least 40 patients daily. “Now, group leaders are coming and asking us not to leave, but we are hurt,” said Manjeet.
“It is a great movement but it is directionless as of now,” Dr. Gurpreet said.
