Out with washing machines to solve farmers’ laundry issues

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 8

People from Punjab have been thinking beyond unthinkable to ensure that the farmers putting up on the Delhi-Haryana border do not feel inconvenienced.

The kabaddi players of the region, with the help of a group of NRIs from Shahkot Tehsil here, have bought two new washing machines and set up a laundry service for farmers staying put at the Singhu border. The farmers had left from their places on November 25 with a limited set of clothes. Sensing their need for clean clothes at the dharna site, the volunteers rose to the occasion.

Harnek Singh, a farmer from Malupur village of Jalandhar, said, “When we came here and spent about a week, we checked on every small problem that farmers were facing. Their daily dilemma was how to manage with dirty clothes. They had only one option — to dispose these and buy new ones. But this was not easy and could not go on long for all of them. So, we discussed this and found a solution. We came back and bought two washing machines from here and started this laundry service.”

Young boys, majorly kabaddi players from Seechewal, Bagga and Rurkan Kalan villages, have been catering to the washing and drying facility for protesting farmers. Mangi, a youth from Bagga village, said, “We are using the open verandah of an eatery here. The owner has provided us with a motor connection for water supply. He has also allowed us to use his lights in the evening and early hours. He even permitted us to use his power connection for charging our phones. So, we collected about 40 different sets of extra chargers from our homes and got them here.”

Tony, another youth from Rurkan Kalan village, said, “We realised that the farmers required undergarments, towels, toothpastes, brushes and toiletries and we brought each of these items in abundance. We have also got extra pair of slippers for farmers. A donor from Muggowal village of Hoshiarpur left some blankets and shawls with us to hand it over to farmers who require it to keep themselves warm.”

Other kabaddi players, including Sukh from Bhangal village, Manjinder from Seechewal village and Kanta from Pasla village, said they, too, had joined their friends to set up three counters of langar daily.