Farmers' skill-set comes to the fore

Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 10

Decades of training in organising langars and use of tractor-trailers for travelling to religious places, including Anandpur Sahib has came in handy for the farming community to sustain the ongoing agitation against the three farm laws in Delhi.

Protesting farmers left for Delhi on tractor-trailers instead of their cars. “Tractor-trailers are economical and more suitable for long journeys. We are using trailers to ferry ration, sleep and keep our belongings safe,” said Sukhbir Singh, a farmer.

Those from villages often embark on a week-long trip to religious places at far-flung places on tractor-trailers. Additionally, every village organises langar on ‘Sangrand’ and on Gurpurabs.

In the last few years, the community had been facing criticism from certain factions for organising langars. Critics suggested that resources could be used for more productive purposes. However, in the ongoing agitation, the experience in cooking has helped the farming community.

Harwinder Singh, another farmer, said, in Punjab cooking is usually the domain of women, but men do not hesitate when it comes to langar. “You can see male sevadars preparing dishes at every langar,” he said.

Apart from trailers, some farmers also reached the protest venue on their cars. However, they depend on their counterparts when it comes to sleeping at night.

“Sleeping in car is difficult as you cannot lie down. We sleep in trailers and remain fresh,” said Inderpreet Singh, a farmer protesting in Delhi.