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34 trains cancelled, 17 diverted as farmers continue to block tracks in Punjab
The farmers are demanding complete loan waiver and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report.
At least 34 trains were cancelled and 17 diverted on Tuesday as farmers, under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, laid siege to tracks on the Amritsar-Delhi route at Jandiala. The farmers are demanding complete loan waiver and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report.
On Monday, railways cancelled 22 trains and diverted 24.
Director of the Amritsar railway station Amrit Singh said: “Besides cancelling and diverting trains, we have short terminated four trains to Jalandhar and Beas railway stations for Wednesday. Six trains, including Amritsar-Tata, Amritsar-Darbhanga, Amritsar-Howrah, Amritsar-New Delhi and Attari-Jabalpur, have been short originated from Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Ambala, Jalandhar, Beas and Phagwara, respectively, for Wednesday.”
He said 17 trains were diverted on Tuesday via Tarn Taran and Mukerian railway stations.
The farmers started their protest on March 1 by holding sit-ins outside the Tarn Taran deputy commissioner office and on Monday they blocked the tracks. President of the sangharsh committee Satnam Singh Pannu said: “During our protest outside the DC office, we asked the government to fulfil our demands or send us to jail. But after getting no response, we decided to block the rail traffic.”
Addressing the protesters, Pannu said: “Now, we don’t want any assurance or meetings with officials or ministers. We will only call off our protest if the government accepts our demands.”
Besides loan waiver and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, the farmers are demanding return of blank cheques taken by banks and commission agents against loans, release of payment for sugarcane crop with 15% interest, reducing power tariff to ₹1 per unit and waiver of electricity bills of labourers.
On Tuesday night, senior officials tried to pacify the protesters, but to no avail.
The train cancellation left hundreds of passengers stranded at Amritsar and Ludhiana railway stations. “We had to board a train to Delhi, but after coming to the station, the authorities said all Delhi-bound trains have been short-originated from Beas. Now, I will have to go to Beas railway station by bus, said Sunil Kumar of Amritsar.
Another passenger Priyanka of Chandigarh said: “I will have to go by bus as the train to Chandigarh has been cancelled. The farmers should lay siege to the houses of ministers and MLAs instead of blocking railway tracks.”
“I reached the Ludhiana railway station at 6.30am to board the Sachkhand Express from Amritsar to Nanded, but it is running late. We are a group of 14 people who have planned to visit Hazur Sahib, but we are sitting at the station for the last five hours,” said Naresh Kumar Goyal from Jagraon.
“I had to reach Amritsar to attend to my mother-in-law who is suffering from cancer. But the train is running late,” said Kanika Chopra of Ludhiana.
