Located close to the Ghazipur landfill, the Ghazipur farmer protest site has been teeming with mosquitoes, prompting the Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam to carry out fogging in the area. Protesters, too, have been trying to address the issue themselves.

Balwinder Singh (50), a sewadar from Gurdwara Gaindikhata in Haridwar, swept parts of the protest site in the afternoon. He said: “It is very difficult for everyone around here as there are many mosquitoes. We do our bit to clean the area and keep spraying mosquito repellent through the day. We are all from farming backgrounds; my parents were farmers too. So there’s no reason we should not assist farmers when they need help.”

Balwinder, one of many sewadars to have travelled to the border from afar, said he is linked to the Kar Sewa Bhuri Wale in Amritsar. He said his work ranges from serving langar to keeping the surroundings clean. Another volunteer, Gora Singh (56) from Amritsar, said, “I came here four days ago. It does not matter what kind of work we have to do, we are here to serve. Even though using repellants is not as useful as fogging, we do what we can.”

While some volunteers have been here since the protest began, many have poured in over the past few days. Nirmal Singh, a gurdwara pradhan from Bijnor, said, “In our hometowns, farmers come and give us ration. In turn, we cook food and serve those who need it. So most of our raw material has been donated by farmers.”

Meanwhile, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee has prepared thousands of kits for farmers, which include mosquito repellant, toothpaste, brush, soap and shampoo.

Delhi Police chief S N Shrivastava visited the Tikri border at 9.30 pm Friday and met staff deployed at the protest site. He tweeted: “Visited Delhi’s border with Bahadurgarh to interact with Delhi Police officers/men and CAPF personnel deployed in view of kisan agitation. They are doing commendable duties during harsh winter with full appreciation of work expected out of them.”

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Ashna ButaniAshna is a correspondent with The Indian Express... read more