Mirzapur
: “I think I got on the wrong ship. I will have to stay here till May… I don’t know what to do…”
On December 2, a 27-year-old merchant navy sailor, Arvind Tiwari, spoke to his sister Sulekha, 25, from his ship off the coast of Texas, US. That was the last time his family heard from him.
A day later, according to a letter received by his family, Tiwari was “reported overboard whilst rigging the Pilot ladder”. He was last spotted on the ship, MT Sagami, at 7:06 hrs local time, when the vessel was approaching Port Arthur in Texas, said the letter sent by hiring firm Elegant Marine Services Pvt. His body has still not been found.
With beds, blankets, charging points, farmers make tractor-trolleys habitable: ‘This is our home now’
The farmers have put an inverter inside the truck to supply power for their loudspeaker and switchboards, and fixed ropes on one side of the tarp to hang clothes. Updated: December 21, 2020 1:57:39 pm
Protesting farmers sit at the back of their tractor trolley as they block a highway at the Delhi- Uttar Pradesh border, outskirts of New Delhi, Friday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
As the protest at the Singhu border crosses three weeks amid dipping temperatures, farmers have converted their tractors-trolleys into mini-homes complete with beds, blankets, music system, groceries, water and other essentials.
From Tikri, farmers travel to Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh to fetch supplies
Over 100 members from JSO are also at Tikri, cooking food for more than 10,000 people every day. Some of the members also run a small medical centre, handing out cough and cold medicines for free. Updated: December 21, 2020 2:32:30 pm
Arhtiyas in Punjab began their four-day strike against income tax raids, which they allege were conducted to intimidate them for supporting the farmers stir against the Centre s agriculture laws.
Every day, Dev Roz, a 21-year-old student from Rewari and a member of the Jamindara Student Organisation (JSO), travels to five different places to buy drinking water for protesters at the Tikri border. At 10 pm, he first receives a text from the farmer leaders about the requirement. He then sets off in a truck, buying all the bottles at night so he can reach the protest site early the next day.
At Singhu, a tattoo stall finds many takers
Sood, who runs a tattoo studio in Ludhiana, joined the farmers’ protest on Friday with three other tattoo artists. In less than three hours, they made more than 18 tattoos. Updated: December 19, 2020 11:41:48 am
Crops, tractors were popular designs. (Express Photo: Prem Nath Pandey)
At a makeshift stall near the stage, where protesters raised slogans in between speeches, Chetan Sood (29) and his friends made free tattoos for youngsters who lined up outside.
Sood, who runs a tattoo studio in Ludhiana, joined the farmers’ protest on Friday with three other tattoo artists. In less than three hours, they made more than 18 tattoos.
Apart from this, there are 11 toilets at the Guru Teg Bahadur Memorial nearby, frequented by protesters who are staying inside the premises as well as those who take shelter in their trolleys and tractors. Amit (40), the sanitation supervisor there, said he has a team of eight men who clean the 11 toilets at the Memorial, which is spread across an 11-acre area. He said, “Each year, at least one big gathering takes place here, which we are now used to managing, but this is the first time that the numbers are this high and for so many days.”
Among those tasked with cleaning the toilets at the Memorial are 24-year-old Pramod, who hails from UP’s Muzaffarnagar, and Pradeep (28). “Our salary is Rs 13,500 a month for working six days a week, from 8 am to 5 pm. Thankfully, there are so many portable toilets in the area now so the pressure is distributed. The protesters are unlike any other we have seen many ask if they can help,” said Pradeep.