As the farmers’ agitation against the three controversial agriculture laws gains momentum, reinforcements such as blankets, tents and medicines are being sent to the Singhu border from the villages of Punjab and Haryana.
One of the latest additions at the border is a kiosk to distribute free turbans.
Close to where a stage has been erected for speakers, people were seen queuing up in large numbers at the kiosk installed on Friday by the Miri Piri Welfare Society from Firozpur district in Punjab.
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In the first two days of its operations, the kiosk had distributed hundreds of turbans, volunteers said.
Village group
“The society is run by the youth in our village and we have been working there providing medical help to the poor and education to children free of cost,” said Vikramjeet Singh, a volunteer at the kiosk.
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“Considering the thousands of people who are coming here every day to join the protest, we thought of setting up this kiosk.”
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“Whoever wants a turban will get one here, irrespective of whether the person is a Sikh. We do not ask for anybody’s religion. All are welcome,” said Mr. Singh.
On a daily basis
Around 400 metres of cloth was being procured from the village on a daily basis, volunteers at the kiosk said.
“It takes around 8-10 hours to reach the border from our village. So every day, one batch is sent from there so that it reaches by the next morning. On the first day, we started at around 11 a.m. and more than 250 people turned up. On Saturday, we started at 10 a.m. and by afternoon 400 people had visited us,” said Mr. Singh, who is a farmer owning about 10 acres of land in his village.
Those at the kiosk maintained that the facility would continue till the time the agitation lasted and farmers’ demands are met by the government.