Twenty trains were affected in Punjab on Thursday as farmers staged a six-hour statewide ‘rail roko’ agitation, disrupting traffic at five locations. The protest was called off in the evening after the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) after authorities fixed their meeting with Punjab agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian on September 24.
According to a press release from the railways, the 20 affected train services were either cancelled, diverted, short-terminated, short-originated or rescheduled in the Ferozepur railway division — catering to Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Himachal Pradesh — following the farmers’ protest.
Four trains were cancelled, including the Beas-Tarn Taran, Tarn Taran-Beas, Ferozepur Cantt-Jalandhar City and Jalandhar City-Ferozepur Cantt, the release said.
Seven trains were diverted. These included services running between Amritsar and New Jalpaiguri, Amritsar and Jaynagar, Amritsar and Ajmer Junction, Nangal Dam and Amritsar, Amritsar and New Delhi, Jammu Tawi and Bhagat Ki Kothi and New Delhi and Amritsar.
The Ludhiana Junction-Chheharta service was terminated at Jandiala, the New Delhi-Amritsar service at Jalandhar City and the Ludhiana Junction-Ferozepur Cantt service at the Moga railway station.
Four trains were short-originated. The Chheharta-Ludhiana Junction service was to originate from Jandiala, while the Amritsar-New Delhi service was to originate from Jalandhar City. The Ferozepur Cantt-Ludhiana Junction service was to originate from Moga.
{{/usCountry}}Four trains were short-originated. The Chheharta-Ludhiana Junction service was to originate from Jandiala, while the Amritsar-New Delhi service was to originate from Jalandhar City. The Ferozepur Cantt-Ludhiana Junction service was to originate from Moga.
{{/usCountry}}Two trains operating between Ferozepur Cantt and Jalandhar City were also rescheduled. A service scheduled to depart at 1.20 pm was postponed to 3.30 pm, while another scheduled for 3.20 pm was rescheduled to 4 pm, the railway authorities said.
Meanwhile, the KMM’s Punjab chapter called off ‘rail roko’ agitation on Thursday evening following a three-hour meeting with senior government officials near Wadala village in Amritsar.
The protest had begun at noon at five railway locations — Devidaspura in Amritsar, Chakhu Lari gate in Pathankot, Dagru in Moga, Mallanwala in Ferozepur and Sunam in Sangrur. Farmers also lifted sit-ins outside the residences of cabinet ministers in Patiala, Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar following a state-level review meeting.
Farm leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher, Gurbachan Singh Chabba and Satnam Singh Manochahal, participated in the negotiations. The government side was represented by inspector general (IG) border range Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Amritsar deputy commissioner Dalwinder Singh and Amritsar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kawaljit Singh.
The administration assured the protesters that financial assistance of ₹3 lakh would be provided to families of farmers who died by suicide and ₹2 lakh to agricultural worker families within a month, according to the deputy commissioner’s announcement at the protest site.
The administration also assured farmers that pending jobs and compensation for families of people who died during the wider agitation would be provided within 30 days. Officials further committed to addressing pending cases related to stubble burning, state police complaints and railway charges.
Farm leaders said the suspension of the agitation would remain linked to the outcome of the September 24 meeting with the agriculture minister at Kisan Bhawan in Chandigarh.
The KMM has a 23-point demand charter, which includes a legal guarantee for minimum support prices for five crops, a comprehensive debt waiver for farmers and landless agricultural workers, withdrawal of the land pooling policy and resolution of issues related to the Shambhu-Khanauri border standoffs.