Soaked firewood, clothes: Biting cold, rains act as double whammy for protesting farmers

On 39th day of their protest against the farm laws, farmers at borders had to face heavy rains and cold conditions.

A farmer takes shelter inside a waterproof tent as rain continue since morning amid cold weather conditions at Ghazipur border on Sunday. (Photo | Parveen Negi, EPS)

NEW DELHI:  Waterlogged tents, soaked firewood and blankets, and cold conditions — farmers camping at Delhi borders in protest against new farm laws had a difficult morning on Sunday due to overnight rains. The continuous downpour led to waterlogging at agitation venues and waterproof tents did not help much, according to protesters.

Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar, a member of the Sankyukt Kisan Morcha, said farmers have waterproof tents but they cannot protect them from biting cold and waterlogging. “The situation is very bad at protest sites due to rain which has caused waterlogging. There is so much cold after the rains, but the government is not able to see our misery,” he said.

Gurwinder Singh,  at the Singhu Border, said there is waterlogging at some places as civic facilities are not up to the mark but asserted that the weather will not dampen the spirit of farmers who are protesting for the last 39 days.

“Despite facing several problems, we will not move from here until our demands are met,” he said. According to a MeT Department official, heavy rainfall was reported in areas across Delhi and minimum temperatures have increased due to clouding and easterly winds.

Farmers remove rainwater from the protest site

“Safdarjung observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 9.9 degrees Celsius...with 25 mm rain. Palam observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 11.4 degrees Celsius with 18 mm rain. Rain with hail storm is expected until January 6,” official said.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at three Delhi border points — Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur — for more than a month, demanding repeal of the three farm laws and a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) and two other issues.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) leader Sukhdev Singh, whose outfit is leading the protest at Tikri border, said arrangements made by farmers to brave the cold weather are not helping much because of rains and subsequent waterlogging. Veerpal Singh, a protesting farmer, said their blankets, clothes and wood are soaked. Dharmveer Yadav at the Ghazipur border protest site, said farmers will not move an inch from their agitation venues.