Farmers block railway tracks in Punjab, trains stranded

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stringent action against those who had allegedly attacked a group of farmers during the agitation against the now-repealed farm laws at Delhi’s Singhu border in January 2021.