New Delhi: Ahead of Rail Roko agitation of farmers which is planned to be held on December 18, the Railways has taken several safety measures to avoid any inconvenience for passengers as well as train operations on the northern part of the rail routes.
The agitating farmers say they will organise rail roko protests tomorrow from 12 noon to 3 pm in several states including some southern parts of the country for their long pending demands, which are yet to be met despite several promises.
Extra security personnel have already been deployed to ensure the safety of the trains and their operations, the railway official told ETV Bharat.
Elaborating on the safety arrangements, Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer, Northern Railway told ETV Bharat, "The railway is on its toes to deal with the situation. It has deployed extra forces and volunteers to ensure safety of the trains and we are working with close coordination with state authorities regarding this issue."
"The higher authorities will be available on the field to keep a vigil on the situation and will be getting updated information for better management. The railway has made an elaborate arrangement for the situation," Upadhyay further said.
Responding to a query about train cancellation and diversion, Upadhyay said, "The railways has not cancelled or diverted any train because of this issue. In this situation, it is very hard to say where protesters will protest or hold trains. But we will handle the situation in a better manner."
Talking on agitation, Sukhwinder Kaur, general secretary, of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Krantikari), told ETV Bharat, "Farmers have called rail roko protests across the country especially Punjab, Haryana and some southern states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu. We will hold it tomorrow from 12 noon to 3 pm for our demands regarding legal guarantee on MSP and other matters."
Farmer Amarjeet Singh Mohri, president of BKU (Saheed Bhagat Singh) told ETV Bharat, "We will hold rail roko protest for our demands regarding legal guarantee on MSP, electricity bills, loan weavers and other issues."
Another farmer Amarpal Singh said, "We have been raising our demands for the last several years but nothing has been addressed yet following which we will hold this agitation."
Samyukt Kisan Morch recently said it urged the Centre to accept the genuine and long pending demands of farmers on MSP, loan waiver, and privatisation of electricity, and immediately withdraw the new Agriculture Market Policy dated November 25, 2024.
It is expected that passengers of Punjab and Haryana bound trains will have to face some inconvenience tomorrow if farmers come and sit on tracks as a part of their rail roko agitation, however, Railways are trying to ensure smooth rail operations in this region.
It is expected that over 40 to 60 trains including Jansatabdi, Shatabdi, Vande Bharat and other Express trains are likely to be affected on the Ambala and other routes in Punjab and Haryana, railway officials said.
