Chandigarh (Rail Roko Andolan): The 'Rail Roko' movement of 19 farmer-labourer organizations of Punjab to demand compensation for crop damage due to recent floods continues for the second day on Friday leaving hundreds of passengers stuck at the railway stations. Farmers across Punjab have been on dharna on rail lines from Sept 28 to 30.
All the routes from Delhi to Amritsar, Pathankot to Amritsar and Punjab to Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Ludhiana to Moga, Ferozepur, Fazilka etc. have been completely blocked after the railway track jam.
More than 90 trains affected today: Hundreds of passengers are stuck at the railway stations of Punjab due to the farmers' protest. While around 60 trains were affected by the protest on Thursday, more than 90 trains are going to be affected on Friday. Out of them more than 80 trains have been cancelled while the routes of some trains have been changed.
Also read: Farmers in Punjab begin three-day 'rail roko' protest
Farmers sitting on railway lines at 17 places: As many as 19 farmers' organizations of North India have blocked railway tracks at 17 places including Moga Railway Station, Ajitwal and Dagru, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and Dera Baba Nanak, Jalandhar Cantonment, Tarn Taran, Sunam of Sangrur, Nabha of Patiala, Basti Tankanwali and Mallanwala of Ferozepur, Rampura Phool of Bathinda, Devidaspura and Majitha, Amritsar and Fazilka.
These trains will be short terminated: According to railway officials, the 13006 Amritsar-Howrah train will depart from Ludhiana while 19614 Amritsar-Ajmer train will be short terminated at Niwar in Madhya Pradesh. 19611 Amritsar-Ajmer train will depart from Niwar. 13005 Howrah-Amritsar will be short terminated at Ludhiana even as 19223 Ahmedabad-Jammu Tawi will depart from Bathinda.
50 thousand per acre compensation demand: According to the protesting farmers, due to floods and rains there has been heavy loss of crops. They said that only a handful of farmers have received ccompensation with majority of them still deprived of the assistance. Farmer organizations have demanded compensation of at least Rs 50,000 per acre each from the state and central government.
Besides, the farmers also demanded MSP, employment for 200 days a year under MNREGA, control of deadly drugs like smack heroin in northern India including Punjab, cancellation of cases registered against farmers during the anti-farm law protests and action against the accused in Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
