As farmer protests in Delhi against three contentious farm laws entered their second month, thousands of farmers have made the highway their homes, helping each other sustain by maintaining a supply of essentials from their villages back in Punjab and Haryana. But one farmer at the Singhu border has set up a fully equipped temporary home in his truck.
Harpreet Singh Mattu, a Jalandhar-based farmer, has all the basic amenities in the back of his truck that you will find in a home: a sofa, a bed, TV and a functional toilet and charging points for his gadgets.
Delhi: Jalandhar based farmer protesting at Sighu border turns a truck container into a residence
— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2021
"I came here on Dec 2 to do langar sewa. I left all my work & served for 7 days at Singhu border. I felt homesick & then decided to turn a truck into a makeshift apartment," he says pic.twitter.com/FIsmkzeJS7
“I came here on December 2 at the behest of my elder brother who based in the US. He asked me to serve the farmers. I left all my work and served for seven days at the Singhu border. Earlier five of my trucks came here and when I came back to my a hotel, where I was staying at that time, I felt homesick, and then I thought why not turn a truck into a makeshift apartment,” Mattu told ANI.
The farmer has come to the protest with his wife, son and nephew. He also has a team of 80-90 helpers.
His friends helped him set up his new home in under two days. The protesting farmer has also opened a Gurdwara Sahib Riverside California Langar Sewa at the Singhu border protest site, according to the report. Through this, Mattu serves tea and snacks for agitating farmers and visitors.
The farmer claims that his Sewa sees more than 10,000 customers every day.
Meanwhile, with rain posing an uncalled-for challenge for the protesting farmers at Delhi's Singhu border, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has arranged makeshift elevated beds in the tent provided by the organisation at the demonstration site.
“This tent is on low land so when it rained the water collected inside the tent. Thankfully the beds were arranged before hand,” said Jaswinder Singh from Jalandhar, who has been camping at the Delhi-Haryana border since December 1.
The farmers who have been agitating at Delhi's borders for over a month now have been demanding the repeal of the three new agriculture laws passed by the Centre. The farmers are apprehensive that the new legislations will do away with the Minimum Support Price system and leave them at the mercy of big corporations.
(With inputs from PTI)
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels | Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks