Train operations in Punjab are expected to encounter interruptions on Wednesday as farmers are sitting on railway tracks from 12 pm to 3 pm in a three-hour ‘rail roko’ demonstration. Arranged by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) along with Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, the protests cover 23 districts.
The farmers are calling for a legal assurance on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their crops, as well as debt forgiveness, pensions for both farmers and laborers, and justice for those affected by the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
Footage captured by the channels displayed farmers reaching the Sunam Railway Station and getting ready to sit on the railway tracks for their three-hour protest.
A video captured the farmers halting a train approaching from Sangrur. Images from Firzopur displayed farmers sitting on railway tracks and chanting slogans in opposition to the government.
Another clip depicted the farmers encircling a train and chanting slogans.
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Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher affirmed that the protest is a continuation of their ongoing struggle that started on February 13 when security personnel halted farmers’ marches to Delhi at the Shambhu and Khanauri border areas between Punjab and Haryana.
Since then, protesters have been staying at these sites. Efforts by a collective of 101 farmers to march on foot to Delhi were repeatedly obstructed by Haryana police on December 6, 8, and 14.
In the meantime, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal announced that the farmers will not attend the meeting of the Supreme Court-appointed committee set to gather in Panchkula today.
In a letter addressed to Nawab Singh, the former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court who leads the committee, Dallewal mentioned the deteriorating health of injured farmers at the Shambhu border and his personal health issues as justifications for not attending the meeting.
