Farmers head home after yr-long protest

Chandigarh

Farmers from Punjab and Haryana were accorded a rousing welcome with sweets and garlands at several points on their return journey on Saturday for the "victory" of their protests after the suspension of the agitation against the repealed farm laws.

Families of farmers along with fellow villagers at many places on the Delhi-Karnal-Ambala and Delhi-Hisar national highways along with other state highways enroute were welcoming and honouring the peasants coming in tractor trolleys with garlands, 'ladoos', 'barfi' and other sweets. Villagers and others who supported the farmers' agitation carrying farmer bodies' flags showered petals on peasants as they assembled on the roadside of the highways to welcome them.

Farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal was given a warm welcome at the Shambhu border upon his return and he congratulated the farmers for their "victory". "I congratulate all the Punjabis and the countrymen. A big battle has been won... Also thanks to those who supported it (agitation)," said Rajewal while talking to reporters at the Shambhu border.

"We have won the 'morcha'... the central government was forced to bow down," he said. Rajewal also said he remembered "sacrifices" of farmers in the fight against the Centre's farm laws and paid tributes to them, adding that more than 700 farmers laid down their lives.

A family came all the way from Chandigarh to welcome farmers near Singhu on the Delhi-Haryana border.

"We are elated and our happiness cannot be described in words. It (the victory) was the result of 'tapasya' (penance) of farmers who faced all sorts of hardships, including harsh weather conditions," said the Chandigarh resident who actively supported the farmers' stir.

Because of the large convoy of tractor trolleys and other vehicles, vehicular traffic slowed down at many places on Delhi-Ambala and Delhi-Rohtak national highways.

Some elated farmers, especially youth and women, performed folk dance 'bhangra' to the beats of 'dhol' as they were on their way back to their homes in Punjab and Haryana.

At Khanauri near Punjab, villagers assembled in large numbers to welcome the agitators and also burst firecrackers amid a celebratory mood.

"We are returning victorious," said a farmer from Ludhiana.

Preparations to welcome farmers were made at different toll plazas and other places along the national highways.

A large convoy of tractor trolleys started returning to Punjab and Haryana in the morning after performing 'ardas' (prayer) at the Singhu border.

Farmers headed home after the suspension of the year-long agitation against the Centre's three farm laws.

Tractors decorated with flowers and colourful lights and sporting the national flag and farmer bodies' flags were playing Punjabi victory and patriotic songs while frequent chants of 'Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal' rent the air.

Tractor trolleys were carrying cots, mattresses, utensils and other belongings that the farmers had carried with them during the agitation.

Farmers from Punjab and Haryana even hugged each other and raised slogans of 'Punjab aur Haryana Bhaichara Zindabad'. Farmers said the brotherhood and bond between farmers of both the states have further got stronger because of the protests.

Many farmers from Punjab have expressed their gratitude to the people of Haryana for extending support to them during the stir. Some farmers, including women, were dancing and performing 'bhangra' at the Shambhu border to welcome the agriculturists. Near Bastara toll plaza in Karnal and at Shambhu border near Ambala, an arrangement of 'langar' was made for farmers returning to their homes.

Notably, Shambhu inter-state border on the national highway was the place where the Haryana police last year on November 26 had used water cannons and tear gas to prevent farmers from heading towards the national capital.

Meanwhile, two farmers from Punjab returning to their homes in Muktsar district on Saturday from the Tikri border were killed while another one was injured when the tractor trolley they were travelling in was hit by a truck from behind in Haryana's Hisar district, police said.

The Haryana Police had made arrangements to ensure hassle-free movement of traffic on national highways in the state.

A Haryana Police spokesperson on Friday had said the district Superintendents of Police have been instructed to ensure appropriate traffic, security, and law and order arrangements to ensure smooth flow of traffic in all districts between Delhi and Ambala, and Bahadurgarh and Hisar/Jind.

The Samyuka Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of 40 farmers' unions, on Thursday had decided to suspend the over a year-long farmers' movement against the three contentious farm laws and announced that farmers would go back home on December 11 from the protest sites on Delhi's borders.

Farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, started protesting at Delhi border points on November 26 last year against the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The laws were recently repealed.