Indian doctors from US delay return to support farmers

New Delhi: A group comprising 20 Indian doctors from the USA has delayed its return to provide medical services at Tikri border, where thousands of farmers have been protesting against the new farm laws for over three weeks now.

Svaiman Singh, one of the doctors in the team, said they set up medical camps at Tikri nearly 20 days back and have been attending to the sick farmers since then.

"Every year we come to India to set up free medical camps to help those in need. This year the people who were most in need are these farmers, so we are here," the cardiologist said.

"We came to India about three months back for our annual medical camp trip and were scheduled to return in a month's time, but stayed back to offer facilities to the farmers," he said. Hailing from a farmers' family himself, the doctor said they plan to stay back as long as the farmers need them.

He also said they are being helped by doctors in India with all kinds of medical supplies. According to Singh, who has been practising as a doctor in the USA for the last four years, they have been attending to at least 1,500-2,000 patients every day, and the most common ailment bothering the protestors is "stress".