New Delhi: The train services on the Shambhu Railway Station track have been disrupted for over 25 days as the deadlock between protesting farmers and administration was still going on after the arrest of three farmers, an official said on Saturday. The official added as a result the railways, passengers and businessmen are on the receiving end.
Responding to the query of ETV Bharat about the blocked rail track at Shambhu Railway Station, Prem Shankar Jha, Public Relations Officer, Railways, Delhi Division, said, “Railways has already written letters to the Chief Secretary of the state and Director General of Police (DGP) in that connection. In fact, we held a joint meeting on the issue to find a solution.”
“Railways are incurring heavy losses and passengers face inconvenience because of this blocked rail movement,” Jha added. Many express, passenger and freight trains have either been cancelled or diverted from this route as the farmers have been protesting on tracks, which put a huge dent in railway revenue.
Protesting farmers alleged that the administration did not fulfil its promise to free arrested farmers despite several meetings held with them. “We had several meetings with police regarding farmers' arrest. During the meeting, they promised to free these three farmers very soon, but did not keep their word, which forced us to sit on tracks. As soon as the farmers are released we will leave the tracks for train movement,” Surjit Singh Phool, the chairman of BKU (Krantikari), told ETV Bharat.
On blocking the railway tracks, another farmer Amarjeet Singh Mohri, the president of BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh), said, “We had several meetings with officials and were informed about our demand, but they did not pay heed to it. Farmers will hold meetings at the Shambhu border and Khanauri border on May 22 to discuss farmers-related issues, including the arrest of three farmers. We will not move from here until we get a solution.”
Farmers squatted and camped on rail tracks for the past 25 days regarding their demands. “We are protesting here peacefully, but in the future farmers can sit on other railway routes if we don’t get a solution to it,” said Gurmeet Mangat, another farmer.
The passengers, who booked their tickets in advance for travel, but due to Kisan agitation their trains got cancelled, expressed annoyance with the unwanted situation. According to railways, on average every day around 60 to 70 trains are affected due to Kisan agitation at Shambhu Railway Station in the Sahnewal Section of Ambala Division. After making several calls to Sanjay Kumar, ADGP (Law and Order), Haryana, he sent a message stating that he is not available to comment.
