Farmers Movement Archive

First passenger train reaches Amritsar after diversion as defiant farmers refuse to lift blockade

With a farmer faction refusing to lift the rail blockade in Amritsar district, the Golden Temple Mail, the first passenger train after resumption of services, had to be diverted via Tarn Taran station early on Tuesday. The train, which was scheduled to reach at 5.45am, arrived at 8.45am. The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) remained defiant and did not lift the protest from Jandiala Guru railway station, forcing the authorities to divert the train coming from Mumbai Central. It was diverted from Beas and reached Amritsar junction via Tarn Taran. The KMSC holds sway in the Majha region and has distanced itself from the decision of 30 farmer unions that met Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday and agreed to allow the movement of both passenger and goods trains in the state for 15 days. The KMSC is adamant that it will allow only goods trains to ply until the Centre revokes the three farm laws introduced to liberalise the farm sector. District administration and police officials met KMSC leaders in Amritsar on Monday night, urging them to allow passenger trains but in vain. The police did not use force to disperse the protesters. Around 4am, Amritsar deputy commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khaira and Amritsar (rural) SSP Dhruv Dahyia reached the protest site and tried to persuade the activists to clear the track, but failed again. Of the 2,500 passengers who boarded the train, 427 were to disembark at Amritsar. First, the district administration planned to arrange buses to ferry the passengers from Beas railway station to Amritsar. Later, the officers along with the railways staff decided to divert its route via Goindwal Sahib and Tarn Taran. The train reached Amritsar at 8.45am on Tuesday. Activists of the KMSC, which is spearheading the rail roko protest at Jandiala Guru on the key Amritsar-Delhi rail route, were sitting outside the station but announced that they would again sit on the tracks to stop any passenger train.

Hindustan Times

24-11-2020

Chandigarh