Punjab: ‘Rail roko’ protest by farmers at Shambhu disrupt train services for second day

Patiala, April 18

The train service remained disrupted on Thursday as farmers continued their ‘rail roko’ protest on the second consecutive day at the railway station near Shambhu Border here.

Meanwhile, attempts to mollify the protesting farmers for lifting the sit-in from the railway track failed on the second day.

Farmers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) blocked the Delhi-Ambala-Amritsar railway track near the Shambhu border on Wednesday.

They are demanding the release of three fellow protesters —Navdeep Singh, Anish Khatkar and Gurkirat Singh — who were arrested in March by Haryana Police.

The farm union leaders said that the protest would continue till the farmers were not released.

Farm leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said the ‘rail roko’ protest was being organised to oppose the arrest of these three farmers.

He said they were implicated in a false case and the protest would continue till the farmers were released by the Haryana Police.

“To oppose the arrest, Anish Khatkar has been fasting in the jail for the past 28 days,” he said.

The farmers had first announced a ‘rail roko’ protest on April 9. However, the plan was shelved following an assurance by the Punjab and Haryana authorities that the farmers would be released by April 16. However, Navdeep, Anish and Gurkirat were not released.

The protest by farmers affected the service of nearly 80 trains from the Ambala and Ferozepur division. Almost all the trains have been rerouted either from Chandigarh or Dhuri in Sangrur.

Navdeep and Gurkirat are from Ambala’s Jalbera and Behgal Patti villages, respectively, while Anish is from Ambala city, they said.