COURTSY HT JAN 11

Farmers put up new signage, rename areas at protest site

Kainat Sarfaraz

kainat.sarfaraz@htlive.com

New Delhi : Farmers protesting at Singhu border on Sunday installed a green signage near the main stage designating new names for different areas in a radius of several kilometres on the Kundli Highway. According to organisers, the signage has been installed to remember freedom fighters of our country and is a symbol of the cultural movement at Singhu border.

The over ten kilometre-long protest spot has been divided into seven areas and has been named after freedom fighters like Subhas Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru, Chandrashekhar Azad, Kartar Singh Sarabha, along with Sikh warrior Banda Singh Bahadur.

For instance, the area from the main stage to Kessel Grand mall – one of the most crowded stretches – has been renamed as Banda Singh Bahadur Nagar, after the 17th century Sikh warrior. The stretch from Kessel Mall to HP Petrol Pump has been renamed as Sardar Bhagat Singh Nagar.

The signage is among the many elements installed in the past 46 days by farmers, who have transformed the Kundli highway into a town having its own makeshift hospital, mall, library, gurdwara, and gym, among other facilities.

Jagjit Singh, 20, a Nihang Sikh from Chamkaur Sahib in Punjab, who was present when the signage was installed early on Sunday, said, “We have been at the Singhu border for over a month now. Until the farm laws are repealed, the area will be a home for protesting farmers and it is our colony. This is why we decided to name the area in the memory of our leaders.”

The green signage was suspended from the shed of the main stage area on early Sunday morning. Harinder Singh, media coordinator of the Samyukt Kisaan Morcha – an umbrella organization of over 40 farmer groups — said installing the signage was a symbolic gesture. “The ongoing agitation is not just a farmers’ protest, but also a cultural movement. We need to remember the legacy of our freedom fighters and leaders, which is why their names have been given to different key points across the highway.”

Jaspreet Kaur, 32, a resident of Ludhiana, who joined the protest last week, said, “We have a Sarabha Nagar market in our city as well. It is nice to see that the names of our leaders are being included at this historic protest in Delhi as well