Farmers block railway tracks in Punjab, trains stranded

Farmers in Punjab squatted on railway tracks, demanding legal guarantee on MSP and withdrawal of cases registered against farmers during the farm laws stir.

Amritsar: Members of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee on Sunday squatted on railway tracks in Punjab to demand a legal guarantee on MSP and withdrawal of cases registered against farmers during the farm laws stir, among other things. The blockade from 1 pm to 4 pm disrupted the movement of trains on several routes including Amritsar-Delhi, Amritsar-Khemkaran and on the Jalandhar-Jammu rail section, according to official sources.

In Amritsar district, hundreds of agitating farmers led by Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) leader Sarwan Singh Pandher squatted on the Amritsar-New Delhi railway track in Jandiala town, nearly 25 km from Amritsar. Pandher said the farmers blocked railway tracks from 1 pm to 4 pm at 13 places in 11 districts of Punjab.

The protesters also blocked railway tracks on Amritsar-Delhi, Amritsar-Khemkaran, and Amritsar-Pathankot routes besides those in Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Moga, Muktsar, Mansa, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana districts. In Hoshiarpur, the blockade was on the Jalandhar-Jammu rail section at the Tanda railway station.

According to the official sources, train no. 12920 Malwa Superfast Express and Superfast Jammu-Mumbai train were stranded at Dasuya and Bhangala railway stations respectively due to the rail blockade. The protesters are also seeking stringent action against those who had allegedly attacked a group of farmers during the agitation against the now-repealed farm laws at Delhi's Singhu border in January 2021. (PTI)