E-Paper
Rail traffic disrupted in Punjab as farmers squat on tracks
Passengers bear the brunt as 12 trains in Ferozepur and nine trains under Ambala divisions were cancelled, while several were either short-terminated or short-originated
As many as 21 trains were cancelled and several were either short-terminated or short-originated in Ambala and Ferozepur rail divisions as farmers squatted on rail tracks at more than 50 places across Punjab on Wednesday as part of their three-hour ‘Rail Roko’ protest to press the Centre to accept their various demands, including a legally binding minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
The call for the ‘rail roko’ was given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha.
Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said farmers blocked rail tracks at many places from 12 noon to 3 pm.
Pandher said that the rail Roko protest was successful and they received support from different sections of the society, including farmers.
“The rail Roko received a massive response from the farmers, labourers, youngsters, women and small traders. This shows that ongoing farmer agitation is turning into a people’s movement. The blockade remained peaceful across the state,” said Pandher.
Protesting farmers blocked train routes at many places, including Moga, Faridkot, Kadian and Batala in Gurdaspur; Phillaur in Jalandhar; Tanda, Dasuya, Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur; Makhu, Talwandi Bhai in Ferozepur; Sahnewal in Ludhiana; Shambhu in Patiala; Mohali; Sunam and Lehra in Sangrur, Rampura Phul in Bathinda and Devidaspura in Amritsar.
According to railway authorities of the Ferozepur division, 12 trains were cancelled, two each were short-terminated and short-originated and 34 trains were delayed. Nine trains were cancelled under the Ambala division, five were rescheduled and one short-terminated.
According to the railway officials, short-route trains towards Bathinda, Kalka, Sri Ganganagar and Doulatpur Chowk were among those cancelled, while those regulated were from Amritsar.
Railways said that train number 14547 (Ambala Cantt-Bathinda), 04753 (Bathinda-Sri Ganganagar), 04756 (Sri Ganganagar-Ambala Cantt), 04569/70 (Ambala Cantt-Kalka-Ambala Cantt), 06997/98 (Ambala Cantt-Doulatpur Chowk-Ambala Cantt) and 14527/28 (Bathinda-Sri Ganganagar-Bathinda) were cancelled.
Naveen Kumar Jha, senior divisional commercial manager, Ambala division, said: “The trains facing delays were halted at stations equipped with basic amenities such as food and water to ensure the comfort of travellers. Additionally, help desks were set up at various stations to provide real-time updates and assistance to passengers. Regular announcements were made,” Jha said.
The Humsafar Express from Jammu to Sealdah, Dadar Express from Amritsar to Mumbai and Shan-e-Punjab Express from New Delhi to Amritsar were halted at different platforms of the Ludhiana railway station. The Shatabdi Express coming from New Delhi for Amritsar was halted at Khanna railway station.
Bhartiya Kisan Mazdoor Union’s state president Dilbag Singh, who led the protesters at the Sahnewal railway station in Ludhiana, said, “Farmers have been on protest at three border points (between Punjab and Haryana) for 309 days now. The outcome is nothing even after four meetings.”
Train services in south Malwa districts were also affected. BKU leader Resham Singh Yatri said: “Today’s protest was to make ourselves heard as the Centre government has turned a blind eye towards issues of farmers. Our leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal is on fast-unto-death to press the government to accept the demands of the agrarian community and farmers want to go to Delhi as a mark of protest. But the BJP-ruled government in Centre and Haryana have shown indifferent attitude towards farmers and used harsh measures to disrupt efforts of peaceful protest march,” said Yatri.
Members of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) held a parallel motorbike protest across the state on Wednesday to express solidarity with the ongoing stir.
Union general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan said that these protests were at 62 blocks of 18 districts.
In Sangrur, Inderjit Singh Ghaniya, BKU (Sidhupur) leader alleged that CM (Bhagwant) Mann is like a puppet. “Arvind Kejriwal is using Bhagwant Mann to implement Central bills in Punjab. AAP has become the B-team of the BJP,” he added.
Deepak Singh (25), a resident of Tarn Taran who was travelling with his wife, two children, and brother after visiting the Dera Baba Gur Bar Bhag Singh shrine in Una (Himachal Pradesh), was among the passengers who faced inconvenience due to the rail traffic disruption.
He said that he had been waiting for over two hours at Hoshiarpur railway station for the train to Jalandhar.
Manoj Yadav (35), a mason from Chhattisgarh, currently residing in Narain Nagar, Hoshiarpur, also shared his ordeal.
He was travelling with his wife and two children to Chhattisgarh. Given the long distance, he said that trains were the only suitable option for their journey, leaving them with no choice but to wait for the protest to end.
