The protest site at Singhu border bore a different look on Wednesday with more number of protesters arriving from Haryana and Punjab, while the number of langars distributing food also increased in comparison to the past few days.
Around a 15 km-long stretch on the Delhi-Haryana highway was packed with tractors on both sides of the road, with people people walking and standing in different groups.
They were of the view that the viral video of a weeping Rakesh Tikait, news of barricading by the police, and the attack on the protesting farmers have touched a chord with the agricultural community.
“Our own government tried to punish us by using its police force in an attempt to derail the peaceful protest. We had high hopes from the government, but at present we have only anger,” Rana Randeep Singh, a protester at one of the langar sites at Singhu border, told IANS.
What has changed at the Singhu border is that young brigades of farmers have joined the protest in large numbers. And every young farmer has to say one thing: “The January 26 incident has changed the mindset of the people. No one will go back now until the anti-farm laws are taken back.”
Hamir Singh, a college student who joined the protest on January 29 and has given the responsibility of monitoring the security system at the protest site, told IANS that people in the villages of Punjab are full of anger.
“I had come here on January 25 to join the tractor rally and had gone back with my group after the event. After hearing the news of attack on our elders, I came back with 100 more protesters from my village,” he said.
Hamir Singh also said that the gram panchayats in both Punjab and Haryana have made it mandatory that one person from each home will join the protest for one week. “After the news of attack on farmers broke, the gram panchayats decided that more people will join the protest.”
Another young farmer said, “It has been made mandatory for each family to send one person for a period of one week to the protest site. Those who do not comply with the panchayat’s order will have to pay Rs 2,100 as compensation.”
The suspension of internet services at the Singhu border is another reason why the protesters are angry, especially the youth.
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