‘Rail roko’ agitation: Train services likely to be hit today

On the call of Rail Roko by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, farmers are set to block railway tracks in Punjab on Wednesday.
Farmer leaders are believed to have decided to block all the railway tracks in the state from 12pm to 3 pm. The move is likely to disrupt hundreds of trains across the country, especially in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir.
Farmer leader Sarvan Singh Pandher has urged the people of Punjab to participate in the protest to leave a strong message to the union government.
In a video message Pandher said, “People of Punjab need to fight strongly and unitedly. All the unions are trying to protest in a uniform manner, the protest is against the union government”.
The farmer leaders were protesting for 13 demands including guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP), Loan waiver and opposing corporate control over agricultural markets. He said that the farmers’ agitation has completed 309 days and farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewals’ fast unto death has completed 22 days, but the union government was not taking the issue seriously. He said that all the villagers in the Punjab should reach all stations and block railway tracks for three hours. On the other hand the Indian Railways may issue an advisory for the train passengers traveling to Punjab and other northern states. The sources said that the officers of the northern railways were monitoring the situation very closely and a call for the cancellation of trains will be taken only after assessing the ground situation and response to the Rail Roko call The farmers have taken the decision of the Rail Roko and Tractor March after the Haryana police did not allow them to enter Haryana foiling their several attempts to start Delhi March from Sambhu Border. However, several farmer unions associated with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of around 40 farmer and labourer unions across the country, were maintaining distance from the ongoing agitation and they are unlikely to support the Rail Roko as well.