The Sikh Sangat of Calcutta, many of whose members are from farmer families in Punjab, will block National Highway 2 in Dankuni between noon and 3pm on Saturday in response to a chakka jam call by protesting farmers in Delhi.

The Sangat has given a call to everyone to gather at the Dunlop Gurdwara by 10.30am, from where they plan to leave for the blockade venue, near the Dankuni toll plaza, by cars.

A WhatsApp invitation created by the Sangat inviting people to join the blockade carries an image of a woman and her son in front of iron nails, resembling iron nails put up by Delhi police to block access to the protest sites at Delhi’s borders, where farmers are demonstrating to press for the repeal of three new farm laws introduced by the Centre.

“We picked up the image from online. It shows an elderly lady and her son. The son is sitting while the lady is about to step on the nails. The son places a hand under her right feet to protect her from getting hurt in the nails,” said Gursharan Singh, a member of the Rashbehari Gurdwara, who helped prepare the WhatsApp invitation.

“The woman resembles the Motherland. To a farmer, the Motherland is very important. In the image, the farmer’s son is trying to protect the Motherland. What the Centre has done with farmers in Delhi is very strange,” said Gursharan, whose roots are in Gurdaspur district in Punjab.

The woman is also carrying a flag with a green border and a green circle in the middle amidst yellow. The green signifies the green revolution that was ushered in by farmers of India, said Ajit Singh, a member of the MG Road Gurdwara.

“I still own 12 acres of farmland at my village in Ludhiana. I visit my village thrice or four times every year. How can I stay unfazed after what the Centre has done to farmers,” he said.

The image sent with the Sangat invitation

There have been multiple rallies in Calcutta in support of the farmers’ movement since December. The rallies criss-crossed the city, with the participants carrying placards saying a nation cannot survive if its farmers are unwell. Even a religious procession of the Sikhs had some people carrying banners in support of the farmers’ movement.

The Sangat members said the least they could do was show solidarity with the farmers who have been protesting for over two months.

An officer of Dankuni police station confirmed to Metro that he had received a request from Sikh Sangat about Saturday’s blockade.

“We have organised medical camps at the protest sites. I have been to the protest sites thrice. We provided medical aid, medicines to the frail and sick farmers. We will continue doing so. Groups of 15 to 20 people are staying there in rotation,” said Satnam Singh Ahluwalia, the general secretary of Behala Gurdwara.

A Sangat member said the protests would not have gained this scale had the Centre dealt with the protesters with sensitivity.

“The Centre should have repealed the three farm laws. Earlier, they were saying only Punjab’s farmers were involved in the protests at Delhi’s borders. But now there are farmers from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, too. The movement has spread,” said the member.