Chhavi Bhatia
Tikri Border– Thousands of farmers at Tikri faced a harrowing time as monsoon unleashed its fury with full force in the wee hours of Monday. The incessant rain which started around 2 am continued till late Monday night, submerging the protest site into knee-deep water. The meteorological department has forecast rain for the next few days in parts of Haryana and Delhi NCR.
Open areas where farmers have pitched their tents since November, looked like a mini ocean with excessive water all around. A cursory glance from Pakoda Chowk—a main crossing point of Tikri, showed the full blown impact of the destruction the heavy downpour left in its wake. Most of the tents, farmers’ makeshift homes, were demolished by the rain while water seeped inside a few others. Elderly, women and young boys wade through knee-deep water to get supplies like milk, food and water. Langar sewa was also hit as rains destroyed the ration stored in kitchens. “We woke up around 2:30 to the sound of heavy rain and immediately started gathering our belongings. Our mattresses, blankets and clothes were soaked and water seeped inside our tents. There was hardly any place around that was not full of water,” said Hardev Singh, a farmer from Malerkotla. “We spent the entire night and next day at our neighbour’s whose tent was intact thankfully. Our boys worked even in the rain to set up our place again,” shared Mahipal Singh, an agriculturist from Kaithal.
The elderly and women were the most affected. Some old farmers reportedly slipped and injured themselves while going to relieve themselves. Women, on the other hand, had to take help of young male volunteers to go to the temporary washrooms built for them, something both felt uncomfortable with. “It was more embarrassing for the bibis to ask for our help. We tried to make them understand that they can’t go unassisted in floods. Someone should be a call away in case of a mishap,” said Jashandeep Singh, a volunteer at Tikri. Preparing food was a herculean task too as women cooked in the drizzle, sitting on wet floor.
Even as the peasants once again displayed their resilience in face of the vagaries of weather, they rued that waging the revolution comes at a hefty price. Criticising the government and anti-farmer critics, they said that they were deliberately turning a blind eye to the inhuman conditions they are living in. “Our pizza langars and massage chairs make it to primetime debates where we are condemned for having these facilities but there is no noise at all for the deplorable state we are in. Why don’t they talk about the natural swimming pool we have made. We are inviting them to come, have a dip. They think we are having fun?,” asked an angry Dalbir Singh Ahlawat, a farmer from Mehem.
