New Delhi
Crowds gathered at Singhu, the epicentre of the farmers’ protest spanning over 4 months against the controversial Central farm laws, have been thinning over the past few days as the farmers are leaving for harvesting.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the umbrella body of over 40 farm unions holding the protests, have therefore called off mahapanchayats in other states and instead it refocused on Delhi borders, which witnessed on Monday day-long Holi celebrations.
It is the harvesting season in north India requiring more labour force at the fields, but once the season is over, the number of protesters will swell, a SKM leader said. There are now only 3-5 protesters in each tractor trailer compared to 10-15 earlier. Farmer leader Gurjukh Singh of Hoshiarpur said the decline in numbers at the borders also could be due to senior leaders holding the kisan mahapanchayats across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and others.
Morcha leader Harinder Singh Lakhowal said the thinning of crowds is only temporary as the farmers are maintaining "protest roster" in every village to ensure the farmers return to the Delhi borders when other batches return. Yes, some farmers have move back their tractor trailers, but pucca huts have come up as a replacement to provide shelter to the protesters,” he said.
