Ravinder Saini
Tribune News Service
Rohtak, December 12
“The protest has given us lifelong friends in Punjab. We now have someone in Moga, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Mansa and Sangrur districts. Their year-long peaceful struggle has also taught us a lesson of keeping patience even in adverse conditions. Their departure left many locals emotional but we are glad and elevated over their triumph,” said a 67-year-old Baljeet Singh Dalal of Bahadurgarh town (Jhajjar), who provided water to farmers during the whole protest.
Like Baljeet, many other locals, closely associated with the protest, believe that the agitation has succeeded to strengthen bonhomie between Haryana and Punjab to a large extent as it was for the first time when they spent such a long time with Punjabis and got an opportunity to understand, feel and share their pain over the condition of farmers.
Baljeet said, “Punjab farmers realised the support we extended to them during the protest, hence they exchanged hugs with us before going back home. They clicked pictures with us for memory and exchanged their cell numbers with an invitation of coming to Punjab.”
Virendra Hooda of Sanghi village (Rohtak) said, “No doubt, farmers of Punjab and Haryana have become life-time friends. The protest also ironed out all sorts of differences between people of both states. Their affection with us now can be gauged from the fact that some farmers have taken promises from us for coming to Punjab to attend weddings of their children. We have also taken the same from them to make this bond of brotherhood life-long.”
Now, we've lifelong friends in Punjab: Haryana residents
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