E-Paper
Chandigarh: Farmers’ protest delays afternoon Shatabdi by 2.5 hours
The Ajmer to Chandigarh Vande Bharat Express (20977) also reached Chandigarh one hour late due to delay in covering the distance from Delhi to Ambala
The afternoon Chandigarh-New Delhi Shatabdi Express faced a delay of over two and a half hours on Thursday due to the farmers’ protest at various stations in Punjab and Haryana.
The train (12046) left Chandigarh by 12.10 pm and reached Ambala by 12.45 pm. However, its departure at 12.47 pm was delayed till 2.53 pm due to the farmers’ blockade. Supposed to reach Karnal by 1.35 pm, it got there by 3.41 pm, before reaching New Delhi at 5.56 pm, against the scheduled time of 3.20 pm.
The Ajmer to Chandigarh Vande Bharat Express (20977) also reached Chandigarh one hour late due to delay in covering the distance from Delhi to Ambala.
Other trains that remained affected on this track included the Vande Bharat Express, which runs from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra to New Delhi (22478) and passes through Ambala station, Paschim Express from Amritsar to Mumbai (12926) and the Kalka Ambala Cantt Express Special train (04570). All of them were delayed by around two and a half hours.
The two-hour “rail roko” protest was called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha to mark the third anniversary of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed during a demonstration against the now-repealed three farm laws.
The protesting farmers also demanded a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) on crops, loan waiver, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, and punishment of those responsible for the Lakhimpur Kheri incident among others.
As per officials at the Chandigarh railway station, the morning Shatabdi trains and Amb Andura to New Delhi Vande Bharat Express were able to reach on time as the call to block the train tracks was from 12.30 pm onwards.
