Farmers’ protest: Free buses from Uttarakhand, digital chaupal among newly added facilities at UP Gate

Ghaziabad: Farmers protesting at the UP Gate on Saturday introduced various facilities for protesters and also initiated a free-of-cost bus service from the site to Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand

Ghaziabad: Farmers protesting at the UP Gate on Saturday introduced various facilities for protesters and also initiated a free-of-cost bus service from the site to Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand.

HT Image

As the eighth round of talks with the government over the rollback of the three farm laws ended in a stalemate on Friday, protesting farmers said they are in it for the long haul and won’t budge till their demands are met.

The UP Gate protest site has been turned into a “city of tents”, occupied by an estimated 9,000-10,000 people who have come from different parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab. The farmers, through their own contributions, have roped in two 52-seater buses, to ferry them to and from UP Gate, which is about 250km from Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand.

“Private buses have been roped in by different associations from Udham Singh Nagar and they are footing the bill for fuel, etc. For protesters, it is a free of cost journey to UP Gate and back. The buses are making it easier for women to join the protest. Otherwise, they had to travel in tractor-trolleys. It is also useful as protesters can now go back home and then return easily with the help of these buses,” said Jagtar Singh Bajwa, a farmer leader from Uttarakhand and a member of the UP Gate farmers’ committee.

Volunteers are also seizing the long stay opportunity and have come up with “Sanjhi Sath” – a form of “digital chaupal” which is attracting a number of farmers.

“At the Sanjhi Sath, we have a collection of about 100 titles of books in Hindi, English and Gurmukhi. Farmers can come and read these books free of cost. Besides, we have made arrangements for newspapers to be delivered daily. Further, we have a projector through which we play historical and patriotic films. We have added the concept of “Ek Pradesh” in which different cultural, social and other aspects of one state per day is discussed in a forum,” said Ravneet Kaur, a volunteer from Udham Singh Nagar who is also spearheading and coordinating activities of the women-only camp at UP Gate.

She says that the UP Gate site has a large number of youths.

“So, we intend to channelise their energies and time properly and they get new things to learn from being at the protest site. We are telling them about the Constitution, different government schemes and even showing them documentaries on the lives of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr BR Ambedkar and Sardar Bhagat Singh, among other eminent personalities,” she added.

Twenty-two-year-old Shah Nawaz has also arrived at UP Gate from Udham Singh Nagar, where he operates a barber shop.

“With the help of NGOs I collected a mirror and other items, besides which some farmers provided me a chair. With these, I have opened up a saloon for free and offer cutting and shaving services here. Every farmer should look neat and tidy. So, I have come here and will stay with them and provide free services till they stay here,” he said, while adding that his shop in his home town is being run by one of his assistants while he is away.

Likewise, another group of farmers who have come to UP Gate are providing free-of-cost shoes shine service to farmers.

“We are doing it free of cost, be it shoe or liquid polish, for our farmers. We have a sufficient quantity with us and will continue to offer our services till the protest goes on,” said Harjinder Singh, a farmer who has come from Shahjahanpur.