Farmers stay put at Shambhu as drones drop tear gas shells

Tribune News Service

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, February 14

Staying put at the Punjab-Haryana border at Shambhu, protesting farmers of the state are waking up to the sound of tear gas shells, braving chilly nights and sleeping in vehicles with a supply of blankets taken from home to cover them for the past two days during the ongoing agitation and the pursuit to enter Delhi.

An overwhelming support from the locals and a steady supply of food from the residents of nearby villages has sustained these farmers during the past two days. While a large number of farmers from Jalandhar also stayed put at the borders, they said a huge and steady cavalcade of farmers in their vehicles (tractors, trolleys etc) had been arriving at Shambhu for the past two days.

Locals extending support

We are at Rajpura, and many people around us have been injured. They are being taken to hospitals in government ambulances which are parked here. We camp in our vehicles at night. Locals from Rajpura and Fatehgarh Sahib are offering overwhelming support. Local dhabas and farmers are also supporting the protesters. —Guwinder Bajuha, District secretary of BKU (Sidhpur)

Hundreds have so far been injured due to shelling and tear gas shells being dropped through drones, but the farmers have begun to devise ‘desi’ cures for them.

Paramjit Singh of the Kisan Sangharsh Committee (Kot Budha), a resident of Jalandhar, who has been at Shambhu for the past two days, said: “Thousands of tear gas shells have been dropped on us today and yesterday. We woke up in the morning to the sound of tear gas shells, which have caused significant injuries to many farmers here. The shells are also of different kinds. While the tear gas shell causes irritation in the eyes and makes us unable to see, another shell has some kind of a chemical which makes it impossible to breathe. Our vehicle today was stuck in a zone where we navigated the impact of two tear gas shells by turn and it was impossible to breathe. Another kind of bomb is filled with slivers and pellets which injure people within a range of 4 to 6 feet of it. While it stops in the evening, we spend apprehensive nights too, as you never know when the shelling will start again.”

Paramjit said: “Despite this, farmers are in high spirits. Today onward, they are countering tear gas shells with wet blankets. A kite also downed a drone today as it was entangled in its string. Farmers are flying kites here a lot. Any future call depends on the outcome of meetings of our leaders with the government but the farmers are resilient and high in spirits. The locals are supporting us with a steady stream of langar coming in from villages.”

Guwinder Bajuha, a resident of Jalandhar and district secretary of the BKU (Sidhpur), said: “We are at Rajpura, and many people around us have been injured. They are being taken to hospitals in government ambulances which are parked here. We camp in our vehicles at night. Locals from Rajpura and Fatehgarh Sahib are offering overwhelming support. Local dhabas and farmers are also supporting the protesters.”

Salwinder Singh Jania of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, said: “Protesting farmers have suffered injuries, but they are resolute in their agitation. Drones have been dropping tear gas shells without a stop. Some of these are filled with pebbles and rubber pellets. We are in the middle of nowhere with huge fields around us, but the agitation is only gaining momentum with each passing day as more and more farmers are joining in.”

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