Thu. Mar 28th, 2024
demands, at Devidaspura in Amritsar district, Monday, March 04, 2019. (PTI Photo)(PTI3_4_2019_000171B)

On Monday, thousands of farmers, labourers and women under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) blocked Amritsar-Delhi rail line at Jandiala town, 20 kms from the district headquarters.,

The agitation saw the light of 4th day on Monday.

The protestors  had been asking the state government to either meet their demands or arrest them. One of the many demand is the implementation of the ‘Swaminathan Commission’ report.

The protesters demanded that full loan of farmers and labourers should be immediately waived off. ‘Kurkis’ of land and arrest of farmers should be stopped, blank cheques taken by banks and commission agents from farmers for giving them loans should be returned, payment for sugarcane crop with 15 per cent interest should be released, cutting electricity tariff to Rs 1 per unit and pending electricity bills of labourers should be waived off, amongst others.

The protesters sat on the tracks at 1:30 pm disrupted the traffic on Amritsar-Delhi route, which led to the cancellation of at least 22 trains and diversion of another 24. Thousands of passengers were left stranded.

Amrit Singh said,Director of Amritsar railway station, said in a statement, “We have cancelled 22 trains while 24 trains were diverted via Amritsar-Tarn Taran-Beas and ‘Jalandhar-Mukerian-Pathankot’ routes. Besides this, eight trains have been short-terminated till Beas railway station and six trains have been short-originated from Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Phagwara and Beas railway stations.”

Major trains affecting the region that have been cancelled by Northern Railway are ‘Amritsar-Nangal’ Dam (14505), Amritsar-Chandigarh (12412), Chandigarh-Amritsar (12241), Amritsar-Hisar (54602) and Ludhiana-Ambala (64524). The Amritsar-Chandigarh (12412).

The trains were cancelled for Tuesday.

Six of the nine trains diverted via other routes include Delhi-Pathankot (22429), ‘Amritsar Nanded’ (12422), ‘Amritsar- Chhindwara’ Junction (18238), Amritsar-New Delhi (12030), Amritsar-Howrah (13006) and Jammu ‘Tawi-Tatanagar’ Junction (18102).

Previously, the protesters also demonstrated their protest outside the Office of Deputy Commissioner Tarn Taran over various other demands since March 1.

The protestors targeted the Centre and Punjab government for their ‘unkept promises’. State president, KMSC, Satnam Singh Pannu said that the farmers were committing suicide as the state government has not ‘waived off’ their entire loan. Farmers are receiving notices of ‘kurki’ from many banks and even many of them are being arrested, he allegedly  added.

 

 

 

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