Rail roko: Farmers sit on tracks in Punjab, Haryana, stopping trains at stations

Farmers on Thursday sat on railway tracks at many locations in Punjab and Haryana as a part of the four-hour ‘rail roko’ protest towards the Centre’s three farm legal guidelines, with officers saying trains have been halted at stations as a precautionary measure.

Normal motion of trains on varied rail routes was disrupted as farmers squatted on tracks.

Follow reside updates right here: Rail roko protest | Farmers assemble near rail tracks in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella physique of farmer unions which is spearheading the protest, had final week introduced the nationwide rail blockade to hunt the repeal of the three farm legal guidelines.

The farmers sat on tracks as a part of the ‘rail roko’ agitation from 12 midday to 4 p.m.

Farmers at Kurukshetra in Haryana climbed on the locomotive of the Gita Jayanti Express practice, which had been stopped at the station.

Also Read | Farmers’ protests: Negligible impact of ‘rail roko’ call on train services: Railways

“The train was scheduled to leave from the Kurukshetra station after 3 p.m.,” a railway official in Kurukshetra mentioned, including the farmers didn’t permit the practice engine to alter its finish for a while.

In Punjab, protesters sat on tracks at many locations on the Delhi-Ludhiana-Amritsar railway route, officers mentioned.

They blocked the Jalandhar Cantt-Jammu railway observe in Jalandhar.

Farmers additionally squatted on railway tracks at Mullanpur, Dakha and Jagraon on Ludhiana-Ferozepur rail route in Ludhiana, mentioned officers.

Bathinda-Delhi rail observe in Bathinda, Delhi-Amritsar observe in Amritsar, Amritsar-Tarn Taran observe have been additionally blocked by protesters.

Also Read | Rail roko agitation: 25 trains regulated in northern railway zone

In Haryana, protesting farmers, together with girls, squatted on railway tracks at many locations, together with these in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Panchkula, Rohtak, Sonipat, Hisar and Fatehabad districts, the officers mentioned.

At some locations, together with these in Jind and Fatehabad districts, farmers may very well be seen smoking ‘hookahs’ whereas sitting on tracks.

On the Ambala-Delhi railway part, a bunch of farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief from Ambala, Gulab Singh Mankpur, squatted on a observe at Shahpur village, about 2 kilometres from the Ambala Cantt station.

“Our protest will continue in a peaceful manner till the farm laws are repealed,” mentioned Manakpur.

Also Read | ‘Rail Roko’ protest: Delhi Police steps up security near tracks

Security was beefed up in each Haryana and Punjab with the federal government railway police and state police personnel having been deployed at many locations in the 2 states, officers mentioned.

Ferozepur’s Divisional Railway Manager Rajesh Aggarwal mentioned farmers are staging ‘dharnas’ at round 50 locations.

He, nonetheless, added that neither any practice was cancelled nor diverted due to farmers’ agitation.

The Ferozepur division of the Northern Railways halted some trains at stations in order that passengers face much less inconvenience throughout the ‘rail roko’ protest.

The halted trains included Malwa Express at Phagwara railway station, Super Express practice at Jalandhar Cantt (in down route), Malwa Express (up route) at Pathankot Cantt station and Paschim Express at Ludhiana railway station.

Trains which have been to run between 12 midday and 4 pm, have been additionally halted at their respective stations, he additional mentioned, including such trains included Dhanbad Express stopped at Ferozepur Cantt and Shahid Express at Amritsar.

Railway officers mentioned practice companies could be resumed with vital safety protocols as and when farmers’ dharna’ is lifted.

The officers mentioned the motion of trains to their locations could be delayed due to the farmers’ rail blockade.

In Haryana, moreover railway police personnel, the Haryana Police had deployed its employees in massive numbers close to protest websites and at varied railway stations.

Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala Division, G M Singh mentioned no practice had been cancelled as a result of rail roko’ agitation.

The Ambala DRM, nonetheless, mentioned mail and items trains have been stopped at Saharanpur (UP), Ambala (Haryana) and Sirhind (Punjab).

These three railway stations fall in Ambala Railway Division of the Northern Railways.

In Jind, the railway tracks have been blocked close to Barsola village, the place a lot of farmers, together with girls, squatted on them.

In Yamunanagar railway station, farmers squatted on Yamunagar-Jagadhri rail observe whereas in Bahadurgarh, farmers, together with girls, with lots of them carrying tricolour in their fingers, sat on tracks.

In Sirsa too, farmers sat on railway tracks. Carrying placards, a few of which learn “Kheti Bachao, Roti Bachao” in their fingers, they raised slogans towards the federal government demanding the repeal of legal guidelines.

Farmers staged dharnas additionally on Hisar-Sadulpur, Hisar-Bhiwani, Hisar-Sirsa and Hisar-Jakhal rail tracks.

Protesters together with girls sitting on rail tracks and carrying flags of farmers’ our bodies shouted slogans towards the Centre and sought repeal of the farm legal guidelines.

BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) common secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan mentioned they blocked railway tracks at 22 locations, together with at Nabha, Mansa, Barnala, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Jalandhar and Tarn Taran, in Punjab.

Haryana BKU chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni had earlier appealed to the farmers to assemble at designated spots in their respective districts to make the protest successful.

He had additionally appealed to the farmers to protest peacefully.