Protesting Farmers Build Brick Houses, Shelters On Trucks With ACs At Borders To Brave Summers
The farmers' protest which has been going on for more than a hundred days now is unlike anything that the country has seen in a very long time.
Hundreds of thousands of farmers mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been sitting on the borders of Delhi since November demanding the withdrawal of three farm laws passed by the Narendra Modi government.
The farmers, young, old, and women came to the national capital in the winters and stayed put there, braving some of the coldest night the national capital has recorded.
But now as temperatures have started rising and the scorching summer approaches, the farmers are in no mood to back down.
Instead, the ingenuity that helped them survive the winter is already at work at the borders.
One of the ways, the farmers are trying to adapt is by building brick houses.
Bracing for summers
Houses are being constructed at places where the farmers had earlier pitched tents. For building 'pucca' houses with bricks, masons have been called all the way from Punjab.
Karamjit Singh, who looks after the media cell of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), told IANS," On Friday, farmer leaders from Punjab discussed constructing 'pucca' houses at Singhu border. The meeting revolved around ways to protect farmers at the border from the scorching summer. There are four houses in all being built at the border, but their number is likely to increase. All these houses will be two-storeyed."
"Due to a large number of farmers at the border, these two-storey buildings are being built and if the agitation is prolonged further, our preparations need to be stronger."
Mosquitoes in the night and the scorching sun during the day has compelled farmers to build 'pucca' houses at the border.
The farmers say they will apply for a temporary electricity connection, but if their request is denied, they will use generators to power their electricity needs.
Before this, many protesters had modified their trolleys to make them liveable in summer and even equipped these with air-conditioners.?
It is not just at Singhu border the farmers have started building houses for summer, in Tikri too such structures are coming up.
"These houses are strong, permanent just like the will of the farmers. 25 houses built, 1000-2000 similar houses to be built in coming days," Anil Malik, Kisan Social Army told ANI.
The farmers had said that they have come to the national capital for the long haul and are even prepared to stay there for years if necessary until the government withdraws the three farm laws.
