Of tableaus & tractors: Kisan Gantantra Parade to join Republic day parade

For the first time, the usual R-Day parade in the Capital will be joined by the Kisan Gantantra Parade from three locations.
A tableau for the Kisan Gantantra Parade stands ready at the Singhu border
A tableau for the Kisan Gantantra Parade stands ready at the Singhu border

For the first time, the usual R-Day parade in the Capital will be joined by the Kisan Gantantra Parade from three locations. People from Punjab, Haryana, UP, and Rajasthan are reaching the farmers’ protest sites in huge numbers. “It’s not a rally, it’s a parade. We have appointed 1 lakh volunteers as there is already so much crowd,” says Punjab Kisan Union state president, Ruldu Singh.

Paramjeet Singh Katyal of Jai Kisan Andolan says the crowds at the borders have exceeded their expectations. “There is already a jam till Karnal and we won’t head to India Gate, contrary to the reports. Instead, we will hold a separate 100-km rally for each border in a peaceful manner, and have made route maps. We will start from our respective borders at 9:00am, and are estimating it can take us two days to cover the stretch.”

All farmer leaders say they are doing their best to ensure a peaceful rally. “We have made pamphlets of the dos and don’ts along with the route map in Hindi and Punjabi to be distributed. We will launch a helpline number and have help desks for all the borders,” adds Katyal, who will helm the arrangements from the Singhu border control room. 

The Sanyukta Morcha had called people to make tableaus on farming for the parade, informs Majha Kisan Sangharsh Committee state president Balwinder Singh Aulakh, who has been at the Singhu border from Day 1 of the protest. “We will make what we can because the decision for the tableaus was taken on January 23 itself. We will start the rally at 9:00am, but people who are at the camps will stay back. Only those coming specially for the rally will participate.

To ensure a smooth rally, we will only use tractors, not the trolleys. Not more than four people will be allowed on one tractor. We will only rally on the stretch allotted by the government. Women wearing turbans will also be seen driving tractors.”People who are not able to join the rally are showing their support in a different way from their respective places. Rashpal Hakuwala, Ex-President, Student Union of India, Panjab University, started heading to the border with his friends from Chandigarh today.

“But we are not sure we will be able to reach there as there is so much crowd! People in Chandigarh are standing with flags and banners supporting farmers and keep waving at the passerby.” Meanwhile, the Khalsa Aid continues to introduce facilities for the farmers at the borders. On Saturday, the organisation launched a water purifying plant with a capacity of purifying 2,000 litres of water per hour.

Amarpreet Singh, Asia Pacific, Director, Khalsa Aid, India, says, “Water bottles were causing a lot of waste, so we have launched this plant as a pilot project. In the next three-four days, we will set up more such plants at Tikri border as well. We will also hold meetings on deciding what facilities to provide during the rally.”

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The New Indian Express
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