English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Russian
Spanish
Urdu
AMRITSAR: The movement of several trains in Punjab were affected as members of various farmers’ bodies on Thursday squatted on train tracks after they began a three-day ”rail roko” agitation.
They were protesting to press their various demands, including a financial package for losses caused by recent floods, legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) and debt waiver.
According to railway officials, several trains were either cancelled or short-terminated because of the farmers’ agitation.
It was railway passengers who bore the brunt after the movement of trains were affected due to the farmers’ stir. According to protesters, the agitation against the Centre will continue till September 30.
Protesters said the agitation was held at 17 places in Moga, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, Patiala, Ferozepur, Bathinda, and Amritsar.
In Amritsar, farmers squatted on the Amritsar-Delhi railway tracks in Devidas Pura.
Several farmer bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Krantikari), BKU (Ekta Azaad), Azaad Kisan Committee Doaba, BKU (Behramke), BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh), and BKU (Chottu Ram), were participating in the protest.
Their demands include a financial package for flood-affected people in north India, a legal guarantee for minimum support price on all crops and a debt waiver for farmers.
In Amritsar, farmer leader Gurbachan Singh said the farmers are demanding a Rs 50,000-crore flood relief package for north Indian states and MSP as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report.
The entire debt of farmers and labourers should be waived, he said and also demanded Rs 10 lakh compensation and a government job for the family of each farmer who died during the agitation against the three farm laws that have subsequently been repealed.
In Hoshiarpur, the members of Azad Kisan Committee Doaba staged a dharna at the local railway station.
Addressing the gathering, Azad Kisan Committee Doaba state president Harpal Singh Sangha emphasized the need to enact a law on MSP for various agricultural crops to safeguard farmers from sharp price fluctuations.
Additionally, they demanded waiver of farmers’ debts, cancellation of all police cases registered against farmers, compensation for the families of those who sacrificed their lives during the farmers’ agitation against the three contentious central farm laws, and aid for flood victims.
