NEW DELHI: After over a year of braving extreme weather, the COVID-19 pandemic and living in tents on highways, farmers' unions have decided to honour locals who helped farmers during their protest at Delhi's Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders.
Farmers' leaders said locals offered "immense help" to the protesters in different ways such as providing electricity and water connections from their homes.
They said now it is time for them to show their gratitude towards such people and honour them.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which spearheaded the farmers' protest, on Thursday decided to suspend the long-drawn agitation after the government agreed to consider all its other demands, days after the repeal of the three contentious farm laws
The SKM leaders announced that the stir will be suspended and the farmers would go back home in a victory march on December 11.
Farmer leader and a member of the SKM's empowered committee, Shiv Kumar Kakka said the SKM will honour those locals who helped farmers selflessly during the course of the agitation and strengthened the movement.
"We have formed a committee to make a list of such locals so that we can honour them. Before going home, a ceremony will be held at the Singhu border tomorrow to honour them. We will garland them and present shawls and sweets," Kakka said.
Kakka said that some local residents and traders became good friends with farmers and their bond will remain intact.
He said the SKM used to hold all its important meetings at the Kajaria Tiles showroom at the Singhu border.
The shop owner gave the entire space to farmers.
"So we all became good friends. We can never forget this gesture," he added.
Kakka said locals helped the agitating farmers in many ways such as providing water, electricity, shelter, places for holding meetings, tents and food etc.
"So we have decided to thank and honour them. A similar ceremony is also likely to be held at other border points of Delhi," he said.
SKM member Sudesh Goyat said at the Tikri border that a ceremony has been planned near the KMP (Kundali-Manesar-Palwal) Peripheral Expressway to honour locals who helped farmers during their protest.
"We will apply 'tilak' on their foreheads and present them with sweets and shawls on Saturday," he said.
Goyat said the locals helped the farmers when the government was hell-bent on breaking them.
"When our electricity and water supply was disconnected by the government, the locals gave us electricity and water from their homes.
They helped us in every way and that's how we won the battle.
"Now it's time to show our gratitude towards these people. We will honour people of villages and towns near the Tikri border before going back home," he said.
A leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta (Ugrahan), who did not wish to be named, said farmer leaders are also visiting villages located near the Tikri border protest site to thank the people who supported the agitation.
"We cannot forget the contribution of residents of villages and towns located around the protest sites. We visited them and offered them sweets to thank them for supporting us throughout our agitation," the BKU Ekta (Ugrahan) leader said.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were protesting at the borders of the national capital since November 26 last year to demand the repeal of the three farm laws.
On November 29, a bill was passed in Parliament to repeal the laws, one of the main demands of the farmers.
However, the farmers refused to end their protest, demanding that the government fulfil their other demands that included a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) and the withdrawal of cases against farmers.
The SKM on Thursday decided to suspend the movement and announced that farmers will go back home on Saturday from the protest sites on Delhi's borders after the central government formally agreed to consider their demands.