Indian-American Doctor Stays Back at Delhi Border to Help Farmers

Treatment at the clinic is offered to everyone, including farmers, locals, and policemen.

Swaiman Singh, an Indian-American cardiologist, has extended his stay at the Tikri border, New Delhi, where for the past three months, he has been offering free medical treatment to thousands of farmers.

(Photo Courtesy: Screenshot/Twitter/Modified by The Quint)

Swaiman Singh, an Indian-American cardiologist has extended his stay at New Delhi’s Tikri border, where, for the past three months, he has been offering free medical treatment to thousands of farmers lodging their protest against the Centre’s recently passed three agriculture laws.

Singh has put his return to New Jersey, US, on hold, and runs the 5 Rivers Heart Association, the only super speciality hospital in Tikri with medical camps for free checkups and distributes medicines for free to protestors, reported ANI.

“We offer services to everyone, not just farmers. Locals, policemen, and CRPF men also come here to get treatment. On an average, 4,000 to 6,000 people get treated at our camp in 24 hours. The camp works till night.”

Dr Swaiman Singh to ANI

In a tweet shared by the doctor, he is seen giving medical aid to both protesters as well as police personnel in the aftermath of the Republic Day farmers’ tractor rally violence.

‘Free Medicines, Library, and Shelter’

The doctor was to initially stay for five days as part of an annual medical camp he hosts in Tikri but ended up staying for three months after being moved by the plight of the farmers. He estimated that a thousand doctors work with him, including those who advise over the telephone, according to the report.

"Apart from doing medical service we have expanded to having a library and providing shelter for close to 10,000 people. We do cleaning drives, plant trees and run a Departmental store that supplies' daily essentials”, said Singh to ANI.

Singh has been putting out a series of tweets giving updates from the borders. In this tweet, he is requesting more donations of mosquito nets after a recent case of Malaria at the protest site.

Background

On Monday, 8 March, hundreds of women farmers took out tractor marches to mark the International Women’s Day. Two days earlier, farmers carried out a five-hour peaceful blockade to mark the 100th day of protests against the three new farm laws on Saturday.

Hundreds and thousands of farmers, majority of whom are Sikh and from northern states of India, have been agitating against the introduction of the controversial agricultural farm bills since September.

(With inputs from ANI.)