Farmers at the Singhu border, who have been protesting for nearly 70 days now, said that an increased deployment of security personnel and installation of new layers of barricades had not deterred their spirits.
Agitating farmers maintained that there was a steady stream of essentials that were being supplied by their respective villages.
A group of farmers from Punjab’s Mohali who have been running a langar facility at the protest site since the agitation began over two months ago, said that there was a schedule followed between 10 villages which ensured that supplies reached the border each day.
Gurjan Singh, one of the farmers at the langar facility said, “We are a group of 10 villages with one team from each of the village. Each day a different village sends supplies. The ones who are staying back at the villages tend to the farms. We mostly are working on a rotation basis. There is immense unity among people and everyone is coming forth. We have no shortage of supply whatsoever and while there is police deployment on the Delhi side, our teams are making their way each day from the villages.”
Prepared for long haul
“We do not know for how long the protest will continue so we are also getting prepared for a longer haul,” said Mr. Singh.
Protesting farmers also added that residents from nearby villages at the Singhu border have been helping them in terms of water, rooms for the elderly and washrooms apart from facilities set up by NGOs and other organisations.
Maninder Singh, a farmer from Fatehgarh Sahib said, “The locals have been more than welcoming and helpful. They have even provided some rooms where the elderly can wait or sit. Some have even provided washrooms in the nearby factories. While authorities are trying to cut us off from the other side, we have a lot of support from the locals here.”
Another farmer from Fatehgarh Sahib, another volunteer keeping a round-the-clock vigil, said, “It is all about messaging. While we have sticks with us, our intent is not to hurt anyone but to just make people aware that we are being vigilant. Every protester here has come on their own volition. Since Rakesh Tikait’s video message, a larger number of people have arrived. Reinforcements are reaching in adequate measures.”
