Indian farmers demolish temporary structures used during protests in Ghazipur on the outskirts of New Delhi
Highlight
- Many farmers packed up their belongings and went home on tractors
- SKM had announced the suspension of the dharna on Thursday.
- Farmers will go home on Saturday, weeks after the government withdrew controversial laws
Large parts of the Singhu border protest site were deserted on Friday, after many farmers packed their belongings and drove home on tractors, while others laboriously worked long hours to dismantle the dwellings last year.
Tractors decorated with colorful lights came out of the protest site singing the song of victory. The elders waved colorful turbans and danced fiercely with the children.
Ladders, tarpaulins, poles and ropes were strewn across the once buzzing protest site, while blankets, pillows, mattresses and chairs stood neatly by the side of the road.
Indian farmers load bamboo and iron rods onto a truck as they demolish a temporary structure used during protests in Ghazipur, on the outskirts of New Delhi
The United Kisan Morcha (SKM), which spearheads the farmers’ agitation, on Thursday announced suspension of protests that began a year ago, demanding repeal of the Centre’s agricultural laws.
Farmers will go home on Saturday morning, weeks after the government withdrew the controversial laws.
Harjot Singh of Barnala in Punjab said that those who had less luggage left for home on Thursday evening.
“Some are going today. Those who built bigger structures and those who had more cargo will leave tomorrow,” he said, crossing tractors before breaking a Punjabi song.
The movement of tractors in large numbers led to heavy traffic jams, as did protesters from different states in the initial days of the protest.
Young and old worked together to demolish the fortified temporary structure they had built on the long dusty stretch of the Delhi-Karnal road.
A Sikh farmer rolls a plastic sheet as he demolishes a temporary structure used during protests in Ghazipur on the outskirts of New Delhi
Time and again, he chanted ‘Bole so nihal’ to pump himself up.
Jassa Singh, 69, a farmer from Faridkot, Punjab, said, “More men means it will end sooner. We had enough time to make them, but we left yesterday. So, haste… Have eaten all the ghee my life. My muscles are as good as a 30 year old man.”
As the men tied clothes and mattresses and loaded them onto trucks, the women prepared lunch and tea.
Mai Kaur, 61, from Jalandhar, Punjab, said, “The gas stove and utensils will be packed at last. We still have to make dinner and breakfast for tomorrow.”
Cardboard, thermocol, iron wire mesh, PVC sheets and mosquito nets have been laid around the broken structure.
The children inspected the tractors, cleaned the trolleys in preparation for their return home.
They stop for lunch, or tea, or breakfast, and return to work.
Some farmers even donated their goods to the needy of nearby villages.
Surjit Singh, 64, from Hoshiarpur in Punjab, said, “We have a lot of clothes and rations that can be of use to them. Earlier we used to feed many people from neighboring areas.”
Before leaving for their respective places, the farmers took group photos and shook feet together for the last time. However, many volunteers will not go on Saturdays.
Jasveer Singh, who manages the ‘Jangi Kitab Ghar’ library here, said, “We have decided to stop for a while to help farmers who may need help in breaking their tents and packing things. “
Bakshish (30), who manages the 10-bed farmer laborer Ekta Hospital, said he would start packing only after everyone left.
“There must be someone to meet medical emergencies,” he said.
Read also: Here’s a timeline of how things unfolded a year after the peasant movement ended
Read also: No farmer died due to police action during farmers’ protest: Center in Rajya Sabha
,