Farmers' protest: Mental health counsellors set up camp at Singhu border

Being out in the cold at Delhi borders agitating, with resolution still far away, farmers' mental health is getting impacted

The ongoing protests at Delhi borders are taking a toll on the agitating farmers’ mental health, and after three suicides and one attempted suicide, counsellors have been stationed at Singhu border and will soon be available at the Ghazipur border, as well.

The protestors keep a healthy stock of essentials at the sites including food, water and even doctors. But NGO United Sikhs believes that with the resolution of issues still far away, lack of sleep and burnout from more than 40 days of camping out on roads, counsellors are also required onsite.

The Indian Express reported that counselling services by the NGO stopped a suicide attempt on Thursday by one farmer from Kurukshetra who had cut his wrists. He survived with some injuries and is now working in the voluntary services to stay occupied. “I have been feeling very low and talking to someone is making me feel a little better,” the man is quoted as saying in the report.

The NGO has put up posters across the site that read, “How are you feeling? Is there any depression, irritability, agitation or anxiety? Come to us and we will help you.”

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“We felt that with the recent suicide cases and farmers being away from home and their families for so long, there was a need for counselling,” Jasmit Singh, a member of United Sikhs, told IE.

As the government and farmers head for the eighth round of talks, United Sikhs is concerned that the number of suicides may increase now, as farmers may have to stay out on the highways in the cold for weeks.

Sanya Kataria, 26, who is pursuing a PhD at Amity University in Noida is one of the counsellors on site. The other is Manmeet Kaur, a private doctor. “We have seen around 50-60 people till now and have taken proper therapy sessions with around 15-20 of them. The main issues we are seeing are depression, anxiety and aggression,” Kataria is quoted as saying in the report.

Another doctor from Canada, Dr Harwinder Passi, has set up his physiotherapy equipment at the protest sites. “We had done a recce and found that because of the cold, many people were facing bone and muscle issues,” he told the paper.