Protesting farmers at borders now dig in for the monsoons

New Delhi: With metal reinforced roofs for tents', battery powered lights and cleaning drives to ensure there is no stagnation of water around their temporary homes, the doughty band of farmers camping at Delhi's borders are busy getting ready for the monsoons.

Rains spell relief from the sweltering heat but also lead to huge problems, farmer leaders said on Tuesday as the first monsoon showers fell over the national capital and its surrounding areas.

From keeping ration stocks dry and tackling waterlogging to ward off diseases to preventing electricity related mishaps and ensuring power supply in case of any outage, the challenges are aplenty at the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur sites where thousands of farmers have been camping for seven months to protest the centre's new farm laws.

It is true the rains will bring us some relief from the heat, but the monsoon has its own set of problems. Tents get uprooted. The rains result in stagnant water, which in turn lead to the breeding of disease-causing mosquitoes, said farmer leader Avtar Mehma.

One of the first measures to brave the rains was to strengthen the structures that have been their homes.

We have renovated our tents. The tarpaulin covers have been replaced by more permanent roofs. Plus, a large number of units have been turned into fixed structures with pillars being dug into the ground, said Lakhbir Singh, another farmer leader.

Mehma added that their simple tents have been transformed into pucca structures with iron roofs. These structures will protect the protestors as well as their ration stocks from the rains.

We are trying to ensure that ration is stored in these rooms and kept on elevated surfaces so it stays protected in case there is waterlogging, Mehma said. The recent death of a 46-year-old farmer who was electrocuted at the Tikri border has raised anxiety levels.

We have been managing electricity by joining wires from here and there Open wires can often cause accidents so we are trying to get that fixed because chances of accidents will increase in the rains, Mehma said.

Monsoon rains also bring with them frequent power cuts, even in the best parts of the city, and these temporary townships on highways are no exceptions.

There is nothing we can do about the frequent power cuts. But we are trying to arrange for emergency lights that use batteries as well as solar lights. We have also installed inverters and generators in few locations at these protest sites in case of an emergency, Lakhbir Singh said.

Mehma added that while waterlogging in some areas is unavoidable in this season, volunteers have been deployed to try and stop water from stagnating and to fumigate the protest sites to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes and other insects.

As they settle in deeper into their protest routine', the farmers say they will not succumb to any pressure, natural or man-made. They are now gearing up for a fresh round of demonstrations outside Parliament through the monsoon session, following which they will be rallying in huge numbers in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.