UP Gate gets first ‘women only’ camp, more help arrives as weather goes adverse

Ghaziabad: Arshdeep Kaur, a second year law student studying in Bengaluru, is nowadays managing the first “women only” camp at the UP Gate. The facility set up recently

Ghaziabad: Arshdeep Kaur, a second year law student studying in Bengaluru, is nowadays managing the first “women only” camp at the UP Gate. The facility set up recently at the protest site can accommodate over 100 women and children, said Arshdeep.

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She said that there were major issues for women protesters and her sister Ravneet Kaur initiated the process with help from various voluntary organisations.

The UP Gate protest site is an open area away from localities, markets and other facilities. Hundreds of women are taking part in the protest and even helping out preparation of food at ‘langars’ (community kitchen). However, Ravneet found that the women are facing issues such as lack of washrooms and bathing area.

“So, we came up with the special camp which now has the capacity for stay of over 100 women who can stay here along with their children. There are all arrangements of daily use items which include bedrolls, blankets, sweaters, slippers and even shoes. The women from our camp also go for having food at a langar which is just located outside,” Arshdeep, a native of Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand, said, adding that she has to skip her studies to come to UP Gate.

“We have also arranged for cabin bathrooms and the keys are given only to women occupants who wish to use the facility. So, with the help of exclusive camp and bathrooms, the women also have privacy and stay comfortably in adverse weather conditions here,” she said.

Over the past one month, the UP Gate has evolved in a small self-sustaining township with hundreds of camps, tractor-trolleys and other makeshift tents being stationed at the site for stay of protesting farmers.

The site also has dozens of langars and medical camps running which never run out of supplies. Many farmers have also taken shelter in their tractor-trolleys which serve as a safe house in the chill.

In this connection, United Sikhs, a UN affiliated international non-profit organisation, has come up with a major stock room where essential items, along with washing machines and fire extinguishers, are available for the needy protesters at the UP Gate.

“Initially, we set up the facility at Singhu Border, and now it has been set up at the UP Gate too. Here, we have stocked items like fire extinguishers, blankets, slippers, shoes, ready-to-cook food items, tents, sleeping bags, and bedrolls. Besides, we have a small physiotherapy centre who takes care of farmers who come with complaints of pain, etc,” said Praminder Singh, the in-charge of the stock room.

He said that the idea is to keep up with the availability of items in case anyone needs it any time of day or night. The organisation has also made available some common medicines which come in handy for basic treatment, he said.

The protesters at the UP Gate site are battling odds in adverse weather conditions while different organisations have come forward to provide basic items to them. Delhi on the New Year’s eve experienced the lowest temperature in 15 year which plummeted to 1.1 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) said that their “key demands” of rollback of the three farm laws and a new law on minimum support price will be taken up in the next meeting scheduled on January 4 with the government.

“The farmers are staying despite all odds and adverse weather conditions. Only two of our demands have been met, but the key demands of repeal of laws and new law on MSP are still pending. These will be taken up on January 4. We already have plans for march to Delhi on January 26 and will also tie up cattle at police stations if our volunteers are stopped by police from coming here,” said Rakesh Tikait, farmer leader and BKU spokesperson.