‘Modi has made us live in trolleys,’ says elderly farmer protester

Sixty-three-year-old Gyan Singh, a resident of Chacheki village in Gurdaspur district, who on Friday “died of cardiac arrest as per medical records”, too, had been living in a trolley since February 11.

Harbhajan Singh’s village is just 40 km from the spot where his trolley is parked, and Gyan Singh’s death has not spurred him to return home, rather it has only emboldened him to stay put at the interstate border protest site.

“During the earlier farm agitation also three years ago, I had stayed at the Delhi borders for most of the time,” he said. There’s another trolley here in which one whole family lives including woman members. They are from Rumana Chak village of Amritsar. The family includes Balwinder Singh, in his mid-40s, who drove all the way from his village to Shambhu. His elderly uncles –

Jagir Singh (80) and Mann Singh (75) – along with his mother Surjit Kaur, maternal aunt Mahinder Kaur and two paternal aunts Dalbir Kaur and Karnail Kaur, have also accompanied him.

“We are all a big joint family and have come together. When it is time to get our demands fulfilled, we need to stand together as one unit,” said a frail-looking Jagir Singh who was wrapped in blanket.

Jagir Singh added, “We know that many farmers had died during the earlier farm agitation, but that doesn’t mean that we should stop protesting. Death is inevitable.”

Seventy-five-year-old Gurbachan Singh, from Khadiala village of Hoshiarpur, was seen sitting on a cot on the road at 9 pm on Friday and interacting with his fellow men Gursewak Singh (71) and Harnam Singh (71). Talking to The Indian Express, Gurbachan Singh said, “The media are showing us in a bad light. We are only protesting for our rights, and we have not blocked roads. But still we are being blamed. This is a conspiracy against us.”

Kirpal Singh (70), from Badesha Kalan village of Fatehgarh Sahib, appeared to be very agile and quick in his actions for his age. He had brought a trolley full of ration. Kirpal Singh said, “Modi had said that he will double our income, but see what he has done. We are sitting on roads yet again.”

There were a few middle-aged farmers along with him who were seen arranging their bedding on the road. “We will erect a tent over it and sleep,” said Kirpal Singh. Though farmers of all age groups are taking part in the ‘Dilli Chalo’ march, senior citizens were found to be in large numbers here with many of them living in trolleys.

“Most of us were exposed to the tear gas when the police used it to disperse the protesters. That cannot deter us from continuing our protest and fighting for our rights. We inhaled it. Nothing happened to us. We are farmers and used to unfavourable conditions,” Kirpal Singh added.

One GRP officer Hira Lal, a resident of Chulkana village in Panipat district, also died on Friday after he complained of uneasiness.