New Delhi: Local residents and traders who lived around the Singhu border sighed sighed on Friday after the government’s announcement to revoke agricultural laws, hoping for the rise of their business and regaining their lives.
They have been affected because of the road blockade by farmers who staged agitation for more than a year.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, under the aegis of various trade unions, has protested at the border of the national capital since November 26 last year demanding three agricultural laws.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced that the center would revoke three agricultural laws, marking ascent by the government to meet the demand for farmers who were unrelenting in several states of reform measures.
Sandeep Lochan, who runs a construction work shop on the Singhu border, said this business fell to 10 percent.
“First, Coronavirus hit a business.
From the past year, my business is increasingly suffering from farmer protests.
This business drops to 10 percent of what we use to get before.
This is a very busy route before protests before protests start.
Business will eat It’s about six months to one year to return to the track, “Lochan, Sonipat, said.
Jaipal Sharma, a resident of Khatkad Village near the Singhu border, said that due to increasing traffic in the internal area, the streets had been damaged.
“Traffic has increased in the nearest village area because people take alternative routes due to border closure.
People are trapped in traffic for hours.
The roads in the village have been damaged.
General shop owners somehow managed to get something.
After the announcement of revoking the agricultural law, we hope that our life will soon return to the track, “Sharma, a retired employee of Delhi Transport Corporation, said.
Some shops near the border are closed, with thick dust layers settling in their windows.
Meanwhile, the celebration broke out on the Singhu border protest site as soon as Modi announced revoking agricultural laws, but some farmers said agitation would continue until parliament revoked laws, and their demands were also fulfilled.
Amit Gupta, who runs a bicycle spare parts shop near the Singhu border, said he even thought of changing the location of his shop.
“I had closed my shop for two months when protesters came and stayed here.
Then, I started opening my shop for one or two hours a day.
I gave a six-month store shop from my pocket.
However, after the second wave (Covid) , We started our work from the start.
I also thought of shifting my shop to another location, “Gupta, Narella, said.
Other local Manoj said, “Tempo rates have increased from Rs 10 to Rs 30 to Rs 50.
We cannot get facilities.
We face difficulties in reaching the hospital.” There are many factories here and workers live in rented accommodations.
When factories have been closed, workers have also left the area and locals have losers too.
We have suffered a lot during protests, “He regretted.
Rajesh Kumar, who has been running a fruit shop from the last 26 years in the area, said the pandemic was not about this business, but the protest of farmers had given him a dent.
He bought fruits from the Azadpur market And sell it near the Singhu border.
“Everything has changed since the protest begins.
I visited the Azadpur market regularly, but because of the closure of the road, the distance has increased.
The road is not good because fruits are damaged and their prices are automatically reduced.
The rates have also been enhanced very largely.
After the announcement was made this morning, we hoped that ‘acche din’ (good days) would come, “Kumar said.
Vedpal, a resident of Pritampura Village near the Kundali-Palwal Toll Road, said his income was reduced by 50 percent..” I transport goods to different locations.
Many factories have been closed and my income is reduced to Rs 500 per day from Rs 1,000.
Everyone is here on the Singhu border in trouble, “he said.