Now, an 'eternal' flame lit at Singhu border to honour 'fallen' farmers

New Delhi: Farmers protesting the Centre's three agri laws at the Singhu border have now set up a "memorial" in honour of all those who have died in the last two to three months while protesting.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the common banner under which the major farmer unions leading the protests have consolidated, has claimed that a total of 220 farmers have died either by suicide, from the cold or from stress conditions inducing death while sitting on protests for the last few months.

The memorial at a tent in the Singhu protest site has a torchlight that has been lit and will be maintained day and night by the farmers to ensure that the flame never goes out.

The tent where the torchlight has been placed has a banner with photos of the "martyrs" as the protesters are calling them fallen farmers. "This torch will never be doused and will go on till the time the protest is going on. This is just a small tribute to those who have given their lives for the cause," Raju, a resident of Haryana told Millennium Post.

The initiative was taken five days back. On Tuesday, a 50-year-old died after he had a heart attack at the Singhu border. Harendra Randheer Singh, a resident of Panipat's Siwah village, was found motionless this morning near the Singhu border protest site.

"Our men are dying every day. Each day, one man is giving his life," Raju added as patriotic music played in the area.

The oil through which the torchlight is lit has been brought from the villages of Haryana. "Each household gave one spoon of oil, while soil from each village was also brought so that their souls can rest in peace," Balveer, who also contributed oil from his village told Millennium Post.