Encouraging footage shows protesters building houses with minimal resources.
New Delhi:
Looking to the long term, farmers protesting three controversial farm laws since late November have started building brick houses near the Delhi border. After dealing with winter chills, facing internet restrictions and other restrictions to limit movement, such as barbed wire, for the past three months, protesters are prepared to intensify their agitation and continue their sit-in amidst a deadlock with the government.
On the Tikri border near Haryana, protesters can be seen building these houses on their own. They are paying for the construction material but not for the labor; the estimated cost of each house is around Rs 20,000-25,000.
Encouraging footage shows protesters building houses with minimal resources.
With Delhi gearing up for summer, the weather turns out to be a key factor in the protesters’ decision to move out of the tents.
For many, their tractors had become temporary shelters. But the harvest season is near and many protesters say they had to send the tractors back to the villages.
Even after more than 10 rounds of talks, the government and farmers have yet to come to a conclusion on three farm laws, which protesters say they will leave at the mercy of companies.
On March 26, the bodies of the protesters called a strike across India or Bharat Bandh while completing four months of unrest.
A joint convention with unions and other mass organizations will be organized to plan the Bharat Bandh, said Samyukta Kisan Morcha, a body that brings together farmers’ unions.
On January 26, the farm tractor demonstration ended in violence and led to several arrests.
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