NEW DELHI – Farmers in the national capital continue to raise their voice opposing the new provisions made in the three farm Bills enacted by the Central government. For the past 17 days, farmers have been protesting at the Singhu, Tikri, Chilla and Ghazipur borders continuously.

At the same time ‘langars’ are being organised at various Delhi borders to feed the farmers where different kinds of delicious dishes are also being prepared at these ‘langars’ with their fragrance spreading all across the Ghazipur border.

As the farmers wake up in the morning, they prepare a variety of snacks for their fellow comrades, including potatoes, cabbage and bread pakoras. At the same time, tea made from buffalo milk brought from their respective villages is also served with ‘pakoras’.

For farmers from various places in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, ‘langar seva’ is being provided at places other than the national capital as well. This is the reason that distinct kinds of dishes are being made in the ‘langar’ and served to the protesting farmers.

With each passing day, farmers have also included dishes such as ‘Dal Kadhi’, ‘milk kheer’, ‘gajar ki kheer’ etc which are served in the ‘langar seva’. At the same time, the food menu is being changed everyday. On some days, ‘gajar ka halwa’ is being prepared while on other days ‘kheer’ made from sugar cane juice is prepared and served to all farmers at the Ghazipur border.

A farmer preparing a langar for other farmers at the border said, “On Sunday we will make jalebi for our farmer brothers.”

‘Langar seva’ is being carried by several gurdwaras in Delhi for the farmers camping at the Ghazipur border. Local people are also participating in the service and are coming forward serving the farmers.

Mahtab Alam from Vaishali in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district told IANS, “I have been coming to the Ghazipur border since the last 10 days, I am also the son of a farmer. I try to serve all the farmer brethren as much as possible. I have been bringing 100 bananas and biscuits daily at the border for the last 10 days.”

Mehtab was accompanied by his four-year-old son on Sunday, who served biscuits with his own hands to all the farmers at the Ghazipur border.

Fruits, medicines, dry fruits, water have been arranged for the farmers protesting at the Ghazipur border while the aroma coming from different kinds of dishes is now seen spreading at the border. From morning to night, several langars are prepared for the service of farmers.

During the afternoon and night, the farmers prepare ‘Kadhi Chawal’, ‘black chana sabzi’ and ‘finger chips pakora’ for their fellow farmer brothers at the border. At the same time, ‘Tawa ki Roti’, ‘Mix Veg’, ‘Matar Paneer’ and ‘Shahi Paneer’ are also served to the protesting farmers.

At present, many stalls have been set up at the border where tea and langar are prepared. Utensils and other food items continue to reach the vehicles of gurdwaras nearby so that there is no shortage.

Everyday some new dish is being prepared at the border to eat for farmers. Not only this the children living in the surrounding areas are also enjoying eating all these dishes. Children also get Maggi, macaroni, apples, oranges and fruit juices.

The workers of Gurudwara Langar Sahib (Nanded), who came all the way from Maharashtra to east Delhi’s Ghazipur border, have been present here for more than 10 days. Sandeep Singh, who came from the gurudwara, told IANS, “Till now we have fed our farmer brothers making matar paneer, pakoras, khoya ladoos, Kadhi-chawal, gajar-potato vegetable and mixed vegetables.”

“The number of our farmer brothers we can serve with our langar is the least we can. All the people who have come here at the Ghazipur border are our brothers, whether they are farmers or not, the langar service is for everyone,” Singh added.

“If a person comes even at 2 a.m. in the night, we will feed him food and provide him/her a blanket to keep warm.”

Apart from the Delhi-Haryana border, farmers continue to protest at the Delhi-UP border. Langars are being run here to feed the farmers. Along with it medical facilities and mobile as well as toilets have also been arranged.

Farmers’ agitation: Deserted roads turn play ground for children

Farmers from various states including Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh continue to sit at the Delhi borders in protest against the three agricultural laws. The agitation is going to enter its third week that has also crippled the traffic situation in the National Capital Region.

Along with other borders, the farmers are also sitting at the Ghazipur border which is causing inconvenience for the people. But amid all these, something that attracts the eyeballs, is running, shouting, and laughter of children from the nearby areas.

Actually, the empty roads have turned into free playgrounds for them. The National Highway 24 is closed from one side due to the demonstration at the Ghazipur border. So on the same highway, the adjacent National Highway 9 has also been closed. Here, the children of local areas are racing on bicycles and playing Gilli Danda as well.

These children come here in the morning and start playing, whenever they feel tired they take rest and also enjoy food in the ‘langer’ or community kitchen being run for the protesters.

Racing on bicycles, playing cricket and running after ‘gilli’, these are common sights during the day here. But children being children, they also argue and fight with their friends.

12-year-old Aman is a resident of Khoda Colony in Ghaziabad, and he comes here daily to play. “Earlier we used to ride bicycles in our streets, but currently we are cycling here as roads are empty. It is a good experience to be here,” Aman told IANS.

Tractors, 4 wheelers and motor bikes standing on the Ghazipur border have also become a new way of play for these children. Local children now also play hide and seek every day. However, sometimes farmers also scold these children. But after some time the same game starts again.

Right now it will be difficult to say how long these children will enjoy these empty routes. But the government is constantly calling on the farmers to open all the closed major routes. But the farmers are demonstrating against the agricultural laws on these roads only.

The farmers have made it clear that till the government withdraws these laws, they will not move away from these roads.