Trains movement hit in Punjab as farmers squat on tracks as part of Rail Roko protest

Train services in Punjab were affected as farmers squatted on rail tracks at more than 50 places on Wednesday as part of their three-hour 'Rail Roko' protest to press the Centre to accept their various demands, including a legally binding minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

The call for the 'rail roko' was given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha.

Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said farmers blocked rail tracks at many places from 12 noon to 3 pm as both state and central governments had deliberately adopted an indifferent approach towards them.

According to railway authorities of the Ferozepur division, 12 trains were cancelled, two each were short-terminated and short-originated and 34 trains were delayed because of farmers' protest at 52 places.

Among the trains cancelled were Jalandhar to Hoshiarpur, Amritsar to Qadian, Pathankot to Verka and Hoshiarpur to Jalandhar City.

Trains that were delayed were stopped at places where passengers could get tea and meals, the officials said.

Protesting farmers blocked train routes at many places, including Moga, Faridkot, Kadian and Batala in Gurdaspur; Phillaur in Jalandhar; Tanda, Dasuya, Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur; Makhu, Talwandi Bhai in Ferozepur; Sahnewal in Ludhiana; Shambhu in Patiala; Mohali; Sunam and Lehra in Sangrur, Rampura Phul in Bathinda and Devidaspura in Amritsar.

The Humsafar Express from Jammu to Sealdah, Dadar Express from Amritsar to Mumbai and Shan-e-Punjab Express from New Delhi to Amritsar were halted at different platforms of the Ludhiana railway station.

The Shatabdi Express coming from New Delhi for Amritsar was halted at Khanna railway station.

In Hoshiarpur, farmers blocked the Jalandhar-Jammu rail track at railway stations Bhangala, Dasuya, and Tanda.

They also blocked the rail-road crossing at Mandiala village and the Hoshiarpur Railway Station on the Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur section, disrupting rail traffic in the area.

Due to the rail blockade, a train from Jammu to Ahmedabad was halted at Mukerian Railway Station.

Deepak Singh (25), a resident of Tarn Taran who was travelling with his wife, two children, and brother after visiting the Dera Baba Gur Bar Bhag Singh shrine in Una (Himachal Pradesh), was among the passengers who faced inconvenience due to the rail traffic disruption.

He said that he had been waiting for over two hours at Hoshiarpur railway station for the train to Jalandhar.

Manoj Yadav (35), a mason from Chhattisgarh, currently residing in Narain Nagar, Hoshiarpur, also shared his ordeal.

He was travelling with his wife and two children to Chhattisgarh. Given the long distance, he said that trains were the only suitable option for their journey, leaving them with no choice but to wait for the protest to end.

In Amritsar, farmers blocked the Amritsar-Delhi rail track as they squatted on the track at Devidaspura village near the Manawala railway station.

Farmer leader Pandher said the farmers were demanding a legal guarantee of MSP for crops, along with debt waiver, and pensions for farmers and labourers. He alleged that both state and central governments had "deliberately adopted an indifferent approach towards the farmers".

On the Ambala-Chandigarh railway line, hundreds of farmers squatted near Sarsini village of Punjab, about 5 km from Ambala City.

Farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

For the past three weeks, Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has been on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border point between Punjab and Haryana to press the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops.

A "jatha" (group) of 101 farmers made three attempts to enter Delhi on foot on December 6, December 8 and again on December 14. However, Haryana security personnel did not allow them to proceed.

Among the farmers' demands are no hike in the electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.