BJP Kisan Morcha protest hits rail traffic in Punjab, Haryana

Farmers led by Kisan Morcha of the BJP observed a 'rail roko' at 76 places in eight wheat-producing states across the country to press their demands for implementation of Swaminathan Committee report, Rs 500 as bonus for wheat and effective steps to control suicides by farmers.

BJP Kisan Morcha media incharge Vineet Joshi said here on Tuesday that rail traffic was blocked at six places in Punjab, five places in Haryana, two places in Himachal and one place in Jammu and Kashmir apart from 40 places in Madhya Pradesh, ten places in Rajasthan, eight places in Uttar Pradesh and four places in Uttrakhand.

BJP Kisan Morcha leader Om Prakash Dhankar along with hundreds of farmers blocked railway traffic in his native district Bhiwani. Railway tracks were blocked at Bhiwani, Faridabad, Panipat, Tohana and Ambala in Haryana. In Himachal, protesters held up train traffic in Una and Kangra.

In Punjab, rail traffic was disrupted by BJP activists at Sahnewal, Sangrur, Bathinda, Amritsar, Phagwara and Hoshiarpur.

"We have requested Punjab chief secretary and home secretary to take adequate steps to clear affected railway tracks in Punjab in order to ensure smooth movement of trains," Ferozepur divisional railway manager V Chaubey told PTI on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a railway official of Ambala division said that there had not been any impact on rail traffic in its division, till Rajpura in Punjab, till Kalka in Haryana and till Una in Himachal Pradesh, because of the protest.