As the cold wave strike Delhi with little bit of rains this Saturday, foot massagers have been set up at the Singhu border for the convenience of the elderly farmers who are protesting against the new farm laws, passed by the Central government, for past 17 days.Khalsa Aid, an international NGO has setup this foot massage centre for the convenience of the farmers, who are primarily old in age, protesting here for more than a fortnight."We have received an amazing response with this service to an extent that many eyes were filled with tears of joy as for them it was hard to believe that such a service could be provided in these conditions," one of the volunteers of the organisation told IANS while adding that 25 machines have been set up.Amarpreet, Managing Director, Khalsa Aid said apart from this massage service, their NGO is providing many other services including shelters, langars etc to ease the living of these farmers who are fighting for their rights."Our NGO had been providing langar from the beginning of the protest. We have also set up more than 400 tent houses with beds for a pleasant stay of the farmers," he said.The crowd at Delhi-Haryana's Singhu Border is swelling up with each passing day. The protest site expanding towards the Delhi end and in view of the same, the number of barricadings have increased along with the number of security personnel in the area.
Unhappy over not getting a satisfactory solution to their demands, the agitating farmers on Wednesday announced they will block the Delhi-Jaipur highway today.After blocking the Singhu, Tikri, Chilla and Ghazipur borders connecting Delhi to Chandigarh, Haryana, Noida and Ghaziabad respectively, the farmers will now block the Delhi-Jaipur highway that connects the national capital to Rajasthan disrupting Delhi's supply chain.Delhi Police Commissioner is keeping a close watch on the law and order situation as protesting farmers have threatened to enter the national capital.The farmers are protesting against the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020.The laws allow farmers to sell their produce at places apart from their designated APMC market.They also aim at allowing contract farming under which they can enter into supply agreements with private firms for remunerative and pre-decided prices.However the farmers believe the new farm laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system (MSP), leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.