Farmers Movement Archive

Protesters lay siege to rail tracks in Punjab’s border belt

The four-hour rail roko call against the Centre’s farm laws passed off peacefully as farmers blocked rail tracks in the Majha region, comprising Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts, on Thursday afternoon. Most of the demonstrations were organised under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), which holds sway in the border region and some districts of south Punjab. The farmers laid siege to the Amritsar-Delhi, Amritsar-Beas (via Tarn Taran), Amritsar-Khemkaran and Amritsar-Pathankot rail tracks. The protests were attended by hundreds of women, too. Activists of the Jamhoori Kisan Sabha (JKS) held a protest at the Amritsar city station. Some of the major demonstrations were held near Vallah and Dhilwan villages in Amritsar; at Kahnuwan and Fatehgarh Churian in Gurdaspur district; at Patti and Tarn Taran stations in Tarn Taran district. The protests were also held at the railway crossings of villages. JKS vice-president Rattan Singh Randhawa said, “We are ready to make every call of the farmers protesting at the Delhi border successful. Our struggle against the Centre will continue till the laws are taken back.” On their part, the railway authorities did not run any trains during the rail roko duration from noon till 4pm as a preventive measure. The KMSC’s indefinite rail blockade against the farm laws has been underway at the Jandiala Guru station for the past three months. The protesters there have not allowed any passenger train to run on the route. Overwhelming response in Doaba region Jalandhar: The rail roko call given by farmer unions got an overwhelming response on Thursday as protesters blocked tracks in villages and towns of Doaba region, comprising Jalandhar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala districts. The protesters demonstrated on tracks at the Jalandhar cantonment station besides Lohian. Activists of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Rajewal), Kirti Kisan Union, Bahujan Samaj Morcha, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee participated in the protest against the Centre’s farm laws. BKU (Rajewal) leader Kulwinder Singh said that the peaceful public movement can’t be crushed by the government machinery.

Hindustan Times

18-02-2021

Chandigarh