Delhi: They’re all fired up to beat the cold

NEW DELHI: On a cold Saturday morning that saw some rain, the protesting farmers at Singhu border had to find different ways to keep themselves warm. So, while the younger ones played cricket, the older farmers lit fires or bundled themselves up in blankets.
“How long can one sit doing nothing? Without activities, you only tend to feel colder,” said one of the cricket players, taking a break from the plastic ball-and-stump pastime.
Jarnail Singh and some friends had lit a small fire to warm themselves. “The weather turned all of a sudden, and this is the best way to ward off the chill,” the Nihang Sikh said brightly. The group had also covered their horses with sheets.
With the cold setting in unexpectedly, the protest organisers ordered mattresses, and two truckloads arrived on Saturday. Truck driver Sonu said, “We are delivering the consignment from Seemapuri. They are all newly made to meet the order we go.” Each truck had around 360 mattresses loaded on them.
Most farmers were finding warmth in the confines of their tractor trolleys. Jaswinder, an elderly farmer, said, “It rained a bit in the morning, so it is fairly cold now and we are huddled up in our blankets.” Asked whether the weather wasn’t too harsh for them, his prompt response was, “Our tractor’s hood has double plastic layers to stop water from seeping in and we have plenty of blankets and mattresses.”
For visitors to the protest site, the cold weather was not a deterrent. Satbir Singh, who stood near the Khalsa Aid tent watching the proceedings, said, “I live in Delhi and wanted to see the protest as I believe this is the largest ever of its sort ever in the country.” Like Satbir, many others had also arrived with their families to view the protest. Few children even took an opportunity to climb on empty tractors and pose for the cameras. Even a lawyers group marched to the Singhu border shouting slogans in support for the farmers and demanding the repeal of the three farm bills. Actor Zeeshan Ayyub also arrived at the protest site and urged others to do so, saying it was “an experience of its own”.
On the dais, the coldness towards the central government was evident. SP Singh Oberoi of Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust announced he would return the Rashtrapati Award he had received, expressing his solidarity with the farmers and their demands.