Farmers hold ‘rail roko’ protest across Punjab, train movement hit

The movement of several trains was affected across Punjab on Thursday after farmers squatted on the tracks as part of their two-hour ‘rail roko’ protest in support of various demands, including justice in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

The protest, which was organised by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, began at 12.30 pm.

It marked the third anniversary of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which eight persons, including four farmers, were killed in 2021 during a demonstration against the now-repealed three farm laws.

The protesting farmers also demanded a legal guarantee of MSP on crops, loan waiver, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, and punishment of those responsible for the Lakhimpur Kheri incident among others.

In Amritsar, farmers squatted on the Amritsar-Delhi rail track near the Manawala railway station. Officials said several trains between the two cities had to be diverted.

Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) convener Sarwan Singh Pandher demanded justice in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and accused both the state and the central governments of adopting an indifferent approach towards farmers by not paying heed to their long pending demands.

He said the farmers were demanding the immediate release of pending arrears of sugarcane growers and a guarantee on MSP.

SKM and the KMM are spearheading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by farmers to press the government to accept their various demands which include that the Centre should give a legal guarantee for MSP on crops.

The protesting farmers have been staying put at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 when their march was stopped by the security forces.

In Hoshiarpur, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Doaba) workers led by their state vice president Gurwinder Singh squatted at the railroad crossing in the Mandiala village on the Hoshiarpur-Jalandhar rail track.

A passenger train en route to Jalandhar from Hoshiarpur was halted at Nasrala railway station, said officials.

Several members of the Kisan Mazdoor Hitkari Sabha marched from the grain market to the railway station in Bhangala in Jalandhar district, where they staged a ‘dharna’ on the Jalandhar-Jammu rail section.

Their protest caused a goods train en route to Pathankot to halt at the Mukerian railway station.

Members of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, led by district president Paramjit Singh Bhulla, also staged a ‘dharna’ on the rail track at the Tanda railway station while those from Ganna Sangharsh Committee held a sit-in at the Dasuya railway station platform.

In Ludhiana, farmers sat on rail tracks at the Sahnewal and Phillaur railway stations. Due to the protest, the Durg-Udhampur and New Delhi-Lohian Khas express trains were halted at the Ludhiana railway station.

The Amarpali-Katiyar Express and Indore-Katra Express were stopped at the Khanna and Doraha railway stations, said officials.