New Delhi: As protesters at Delhi’s Ghazipur border begin to settle down days after being given an eviction notice, they are identifying their camps and trucks by the road transport office (RTO) codes of their districts even as the farmers are ensuring that if any of them leave the site for their homes, they are replaced by another person so that the count doesn’t dip.
On Monday, their leader, Rakesh Tikait reiterated that the farmers will not leave the site until the three farm laws were repealed and asked the gathering not to bother about the heavy barricading by the police. “Let the police set up barricades. They are only fortifying themselves into a city... We will neither quit the movement nor leave this place until the three farm laws are repealed,” Tikait told the gathering.
Tikait was referring to several layers of barricades put up by the police at the Ghazipur border. But the farmers at Ghazipur border weren’t too concerned about the security measures being put in place.
Quite like the situation at the Singhu border, they settled down in tents and trolleys, began using their desi geysers, roti-making machines and expanded their menu at the multiple langars.
But unlike Singhu, or Tikri for that matter, many camps here are now identified by the RTO codes of their districts rather than the names of their districts. For example, some protesters from Shahjahanpur have named their camp as ‘UP27 waale’ (those belonging to UP27) and those from Muzaffarnagar mentioned ‘UP12 waale’ outside their tents.
{{/usCountry}}But unlike Singhu, or Tikri for that matter, many camps here are now identified by the RTO codes of their districts rather than the names of their districts. For example, some protesters from Shahjahanpur have named their camp as ‘UP27 waale’ (those belonging to UP27) and those from Muzaffarnagar mentioned ‘UP12 waale’ outside their tents.
{{/usCountry}}Farmers said that back in their villages, they preferred to identify themselves by their RTO codes. “People from other districts immediately identify us by our district RTO codes. The numbering helps us register our presence here. Other protesters as well as the government must know about all the places the farmers have landed from,” said Love Khaira, a farmer from Shahjahanpur.
But the prominent mention of these codes outside the camps served a more practical purpose than a symbolic one, said farmers.
“When farmers arrive here, they look out for their camps using this code. We help them settle down, help them take up tasks, and help them find the conveyance to and from Ghazipur to their villages,” said Sonu Chaudhary, a farmer from Muzaffarnagar.
The codes also help the farmers maintain a sizeable number of protesters at the site, where the administration served an eviction notice soon after the numbers dwindled following violence at the Republic Day tractor rally. But the number of protesters rose dramatically after a video of Tikait breaking down the same night went viral on social media.
“After the threat of crackdown against us, we decided to ensure that our count doesn’t dip. So, if there are 50 farmers in our camp and two of us need to go home, we have to ensure that two other farmers replace us. So, each camp with a code has to ensure a minimum count,” said Lal Singh, a farmer from Uttarakhand’s Kashipur that has an RTO code, UK-18.
While more and more farmers continued arriving at Ghazipur even through Monday, Tikait met farmers till afternoon in a tent erected near the stage. As he sat in a steel chair, volunteers controlled the entry of farmers who visited him in small groups, clicked photos with him, blessed him and offered him words of advice.
One such visitor, 81-year-old Omkari, arrived with half-a-dozen family members. “I waited in a queue for two hours just to bless him,” said Omkari, who just gave her first name. Tikait touched her feet when she walked into the tent.
Later, Tikait addressed the crowd to urge the farmers to stay put and stay peaceful. “Let them (the police) set up their fort. They’ll be the last baadshah (emperor) of that fort. You continue organising your langars and bhandara,” he said.
On Monday evening, Delhi Police commissioner SN Shrivastava visited the Ghazipur border where he took a stock of the arrangements and addressed his colleagues. “He also briefed the police personnel and appreciated their efforts,” said an official statement released by the police.