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Farmers’ ‘rail roko’ stir ends, movement of 600 trains hit
Of passenger trains, as many as 376 trains were cancelled, 89 were short terminated; the agitation began on Thursday on the call of 19 organisations and hit the movement of trains, with many being cancelled, short-terminated or diverted, said railway officials
Farmers on Saturday evening ended their three-day ‘rail roko’ stir that hit the movement of trains, causing inconvenience to passengers in Punjab and Haryana.
Protesters were holding their agitation against the Centre in support of various demands, including compensation for crops damaged in the recent floods, a legal guarantee on MSP and a complete debt waiver.
The agitation began on Thursday on the call of 19 organisations and hit the movement of trains, with many being cancelled, short-terminated or diverted, said railway officials.
Ferozepur divisional railway manager Sanjay Sahu said the farmers’ stir affected the movement of 581 passenger trains and 17 goods trains. Of passenger trains, as many as 376 trains were cancelled, 89 were short terminated, 46 short originated, and 70 were diverted.
The farmers blocked railway tracks at several places in Faridkot, Samrala, Moga, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, Patiala, Ferozepur, Bathinda and Amritsar since Thursday as part of their agitation.
On the final day of the stir, the farmers intensified the protest by gathering at protesting sites in large numbers. In Majha, the main protest was staged at Devidaspur village on Amritsar-Delhi rail link. Addressing the protesters, including women, children and elderly persons, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) leader Sarwan Singh Pandher reiterated the farmers’ demands.
The protesting farmers along with their children also held a demonstration by begging with earthen bowls in their hands. “The Modi government is forcing the public to become beggars like this, but farmers and labourers will not let this happen,” said Pandher, who is also a member of the coordination committee of the 19 farmers’ organisations. He said this is the end of only this phase of the stir and the struggle would continue until their demands are met.
Farmers make free passage for commuters at Manawala toll plaza
Meanwhile, on the call of Kisan Sangharsh Committee Punjab (Kotbudha) and Bharti Kisan Union Ekta (Khosa), the farmers laid siege to Manawala toll plaza on a national highway on the outskirts of the holy city making it toll free for the commuters till 4 pm. The protesters raised slogans against the Centre and state government for not giving compensation to them for the devastation caused by floods.
Ferozepur divisional railway manager Sahu said following a call of rail blockade by farmer unions, 13 trains were affected on Saturday.
More than 10,000 passengers at various stations in the Ferozepur division have received refunds amounting to approximately ₹52.36 lakh through ticket cancellations following farmers’ protest.
Movement of 181 Ambala division trains affected
Ambala
Operations of 181 trains were affected in Ambala division due to the three-day farmers’ protest.
Of the total, 87 of them were cancelled, including 42 mail or express, and 45 passenger trains till 5 pm, officials from the operations department of the division said.
Also, 38 trains were short terminated, 31 short originated, 13 regulated and 12 were diverted via different routes.
The railways are yet to quantify the revenue loss due to ticket cancellations or refunds.
In Ambala, farmers from various unions blocked Delhi-Amritsar rail track near Shambhu border for four hours in solidarity with their counterparts in Punjab. However, the trains were running smoothly on Delhi-Chandigarh track.
BKU’s Shaheed Bhagat Singh faction spokesperson Tejveer Singh said the farmers are struggling to get enough compensation for their crop losses during the recent floods from the Union government.
