UP Gate protest site to get cleared by December 15 as farmers pack up for home

Farmers will celebrate “Vijay Divas” on Saturday to mark their victory in getting the Central government to withdraw the three contentious farm laws and accede to their other demands

It was pack-up time at the UP Gate protest site on Friday as farmers got busy gathering up the last of their belongings and dismantling tents and other makeshift structures that had helped make a one kilometre stretch of National Highway-9 (NH-9) their “home” for the past one year.

Farmers dismantle their tents and pack up the last of their belongings at the Ghazipur border near Delhi on Friday. (Sakib Ali/HT photo)

Farmers said the site will be completely cleared by December 15 and they will all be homeward bound after celebrating “Vijay Divas” on Saturday, to mark their victory in getting Central government to withdraw the three contentious farm laws and accede to their other demands.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), on Thursday, called off the more than a yearlong protest after the Centre accepted their demands, including the withdrawals of cases registered against protesters and compensation for the kin of those who died during the agitation.

“We have started packing up our stuff and are happy that we will soon be reunited with our families. The agitation was a success only because it was a collective effort — several of our brothers lost their lives during the course of the agitation,” said Puran Singh, a farmer from Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh.

“It took us days to erect temporary structures which often got damaged in the adverse weather and we had rebuild them. But, farmers never lost heart and braved all conditions, all odds, with equanimity. The collective efforts have paid off and now we are looking forward to going home and spending time with our loved ones,” said Malkit Singh, another farmer from Lakhimpur Kheri.

The farmer leaders said the site will get completely cleared by December 15, and farmers will start returning home from December 12.

“The first batch of farmers will be homeward bound on December 12. As regards the future plans, we will go to different parts of the country where there are similar problems. We will tell people about this agitation and also seek their suggestions,” said Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, a man who had become the face of the agitation.

“Farmers have a lot of issues and the rate for their crop is a major problem. This agitation was for the imminent problems that came up. We will also try to reach out to the families of farmers who died during the course of this agitation,” Tikait said.

He said for the past year, the UP Gate site had became a village where farmers and people from different parts of the country gathered and interacted.

“We feel pained to leave here — UP Gate had became our village where people from different regions gathered and stood together. The one thing that we take away from here is a big family; our was a small family, which now has expanded and grown big. I will move out from here on December 15 only after ensuring that every farmer has left. We will also try to clear one side of the highway for commuters by December 12,” Tikait said.

The site on Friday observed no celebrations as a mark of respect for the dead soldiers, including the chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat, who died in a helicopter crash two days ago.

“There was no celebration at UP Gate on Friday; we will observe “Vijay Divas” on Saturday and felicitate people who worked hard to make this agitation a success. We are expecting many farmers to join us for the event. A day later, on Sunday, farmers will start heading home,” said Jagtar Singh Bajwa, farmer leader from Uttarakhand and UP Gate site spokesperson from SKM.

The Ghaziabad police said it was in touch with farmer leaders and will ensure that their movement back home is smooth.

“Most of the farmers camping at UP Gate are from western UP and Uttarakhand and they will be retuning with their tractors and trolleys. We have coordinated with the respective districts to facilitate their smooth movement,” said Gyanendra Kumar Singh, superintendent of police (city 2).

).