Farmers get summer-ready, some construct brick houses at Singhu border

PTI, Mar 14, 2021, 10:06 AM IST

New Delhi: The farmers protesting the three agri laws are busy these days literally cementing their position at the Singhu border here as some of them are now constructing brick houses at the protest site.

Having faced chilly winters and heavy rains earlier, the construction of these concrete structures are among a slew of measures that farmers are taking to prepare themselves for the impending Delhi summer.

”These permanent brick structures are being constructed by farmers at individual levels as a preparation for summers in order to install fans, coolers, and ACs, and to keep out flies and mosquitoes,” said Paramjit Singh of Samkyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of over 40 farmers’ unions.

The need for houses was also felt because tractor-trolleys – the go-to shelter for most farmers in winter – get hot quickly in summers, he noted.

Even as over 100 days have passed and no immediate end to the protest is in sight, this also sends a message to those in the government that the farmers are in for a ”long haul” and won’t leave till their demands are met, another member of the SKM said.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at the Delhi border points – Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur – for over three months, demanding the repeal of farm laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.

”This government is having a misconception that the farmers would leave the site without getting their demands fulfilled. We won’t and that has been our stand since the beginning,” Abhimanyu Kohar, a senior member of SKM said.

”The construction of permanent houses tells everyone about the determination of our farmers. We are preparing for the long haul, six months or one year, we won’t budge,” he added.

Beside concrete houses, the farmers were also seen beautifying the surrounding area by planting trees and flowers. They are also putting up benches and make-shift canopy to give farmers some respite from the scorching heat during the day.

Earlier, the presence of a salon, a foot-massage parlour, a tailoring stall and washing machine stations at the protest site had hogged the headlines.