Marking the seven month of their ongoing agitation against the three agricultural reform laws, farmers at the Singhu border agitation site on Saturday said they are ready to stay put till 2024 — when the next general elections are due.
Avtar Singh, who runs the makeshift hospital at Singhu border, said the protest has grown just like the hospital.
“This hospital started from a table and now it is a full-fedged hospital with almost all services, tens of beds, and a fully equipped pharmacy. Just like this, the protest started from a two day-event and now it’s been seven months,” he said.
The Central government is claiming that only a handful of people are left for the protests, but we are not gathering people in lakhs because we do not wish to be blamed for COVID-19, he said.
“Also, we are now prepared to stay here till at least 2024. We have struck a balance between living here at Singhu and our houses in Punjab and Haryana. I spend half a week in Punjab and half here. People help each other with farming,” he said.
Fund collection
Sukhwinder Singh from Ludhiana said people have started collecting funds in villages to fund the protest.
“Initially, donations were coming in abundance. Now, they have lessened. Collection points have now been made in villages and each family donates at least ₹500-₹1,000 a month towards the protest,” he said.
Stating that the demands of the farmers have remained consistent since the first day of the movement, Sukhjeet Singh Sidhu, a farmer from Punjab’s Patiala district, said: “The government recently said they are open to dialogue and want the farmers to bring a proposal. What more proposal will we bring? Our demands have remained the same since the beginning. On the day we are completing seven months, farmers across the country are submitting memorandums to governors of various States. This has brought in a new momentum to the movement.”
Mr. Sidhu said the agitating farmers are prepared for a long haul and that the protest sites will witness an increase in the number of protestors in the coming days.
“This movement is bound to continue and we are not going to quit. We are even ready to continue the movement till 2024 when the next general elections are due. The government has been persistent in trying to create hurdles for us but that will not stop us from moving forward with the movement. We will act according to whatever calls the unions and leaders give,” he added.
‘Done with farm work’
Gurmeet Singh, a farmer from Moga district, said: “If the Centre comes up with a solution then it is fine else they can expect to see people in large numbers back at the borders soon. People are almost done with their work on the farms and they are set to return soon in larger numbers. It has been seven months and the government has still failed to explain to us how the laws are favourable to us. Rather the farmers have already explained why we do not want the laws. The ruling dispensation will see how people reject them in the upcoming elections.”
Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa said langar services and healthcare facilities being provided at the protest sites would continue like it has over the past seven months.
“The only thing which is certain is that the farmers are here to stay and will return only when the laws are repealed. It is for the Central government to decide when,” said Mr. Sirsa.
In the wake of farmers’ rallies in different parts of the country, Delhi Police had also beefed up security in central Delhi. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation closed three stations, including Vishwavidyalaya, Civil Lines and Vidhan Sabha.
Published - June 26, 2021 10:55 pm IST
