As traffic remains hit, protesters look at how to spend their days

New Delhi: The Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders have come up as the most prominent protest sites for the ongoing farmers' agitation, but one location — Singhu — seemingly has been receiving more limelight than the others.

However, life at these protest sites has now become about passing the days as civil society and other organisations figure out ways for protesters to live their lives, attend school, college classes and other daily-life activities.

While there is no dearth of the fighting spirit among demonstrators at Tikri and Ghazipur either, the facilities at these relatively smaller protest sites are limited.

Singhu, which has emerged as the centre of the agitation, has had a constant influx of resources both in cash and in kind.

Over the days, good samaritans, gurudwara committees and NGOs have made large donations as well as pooled technological resources to sustain the agitation.

For over two weeks now, thousands of farmers, largely from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting against the new farm laws at these Delhi borders after repeated rounds of talks with the government have ended in a stalemate.

According to Ranjit Singh, who has been camping at the Singhu border since November 26, the site has been receiving higher traction than the other two because it was the first border to be blocked.

Singhu hit the headlines earlier than Tikri and Ghazipur, which is why all these organisations came here offering help, but they are also offering similar sewa' at the other borders," the member of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Krantikari) said.

Meanwhile, there was a major disruption of traffic movement on key routes in the national Capital on Thursday, the 22nd day of the farmers' protest to demand the repeal of the three new agri marketing laws. Farmers camping at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur border points have led to the closure of several routes in Delhi.

Those travelling to Haryana can take Jharoda (only single carriageway), Daurala, Kapashera, Badusarai, Rajokri NH 8, Bijwasan/Bajghera, Palam Vihar and Dundahera Borders, the police said.

Gazipur border also remains closed for traffic coming from Gaziabad to Delhi. Commuters have been advised to take alternate routes via Anand Vihar, DND, Chilla, Apsara and Bhopra borders, they added.

Among the noticeable technology-powered facilities at Singhu are roti-making machines and steam boilers.

Installed at multiple langars', the roti machines and boilers that can make 1000-1200 chapatis in an hour and cook 50 kg of rice and dal at a time respectively, ensure a consistent supply of food throughout the day for one and all.

Several farmers at Singhu have themselves installed solar panels on their tractor-trolleys for charging mobile phones and running washing machines to ensure the supply of clean clothes to the protestors.

While the other sites are not devoid of these facilities, the provisions there are simply fewer in number.

At Ghazipur, facilities and protestors might be fewer, but no one's complaining.

If Singhu is getting more facilities, it is because there are more people there, but this is not a competition between protest sites. All of us are here to demand our rights and wherever facilities are being provided, it is helping our movement.

We don't have roti machines here, but there is no lack of food supply. Like farmers in Singhu or Tikri, we are also charging our phones from our tractors, Alok Solanki, a farmer from Kannauj, said. (With Agency inputs)