Protesters lay siege to tracks in Punjab, 11 trains disrupted

Following the bandh call, the railways terminated all Punjab-bound trains at Ambala on Tuesday morning.

Train services were disrupted across the state following protest by members of the Ravidasia community on Tuesday. At least 11 trains were stopped or terminated.

Protesters blocking tracks at Dhandari Kalan k in Ludhiana during Punjab bandh to protest the demolition of a Guru Ravidas temple in Delhi. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

Following the bandh call, the railways terminated all Punjab-bound trains at Ambala on Tuesday morning.

Protesters laid siege to tracks and stopped the Amritsar-Mumbai Express at Jalandhar Cantt at 10.17am, said railway officials. Another train running from Pathankot to Delhi was stopped at Kartarpur around 10.30am.

The Ludhiana-Amritsar train was stopped at Chiheru railway Station in Kapurthala district at 9:40am. The Gorakhpur-Jammu Tawi train was stopped at the Phagwara railway station at 9:45am, said officials, adding that the Kamakhya-Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express was stopped at the Phillaur railway station.

The other trains that were stopped included the Amritsar Katihar Express, Nangal Dam-Amritsar train, Malwa Express, New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabadi Express, Shane-Punjab Express and the Chhapra Express.

Divisional railway manager, Ferozepur division, Rajesh Agrawal said the rail traffic was restored after 4pm. Many trains are running five to six hours late due to protest.

Railway protection force (RPF) inspector Anil Kumar said no incident of violence was reported during the bandh.