Farmers Movement Archive

Rail roko: Stir halts 210 trains, North India hit hardest

PUNJAB: Punjab, Haryana and west UP bore the brunt of the ‘Rail Roko’ called by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Monday, with the movement of over 70 trains disrupted at 130 locations in Punjab and Haryana alone. SKM had given a call to disrupt rail traffic from 10am to 4pm, demanding the immediate arrest and dismissal of junior Union home minister Ajay Mishra from the Cabinet over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Railway ministry sources said services were hit at nearly 184 locations across the three states and also Rajasthan, and running of nearly 210 trains hindered across seven zones, including in the northeast and western India. North zone hit hard, 42 trains cancelled The maximum impact was in the north zone, which was the epicentre of the six-hour long protest. According to sources, as many as 42 trains, including many short distance trains, had to be cancelled and 30 of these had to be cancelled in areas under northern Railways alone. Out of the total 50 trains that were partially cancelled across the seven zones, 31 were from northern Railways. Farmers obstructed the Amritsar-Delhi rail track at Devidaspura near Amritsar. In Tarn Taran, farmers led by United Kisan Morcha convener Mukhtar Singh Malla and Amritpal Singh Joda sat on the rail track. At many places like Ferozepur, protesters began gathering near railway tracks as early as 5am. The protesting farmers made elaborate arrangements of ‘langar’ for passengers at railway stations. In Haryana’s Rohtak, protesters on railway tracks at Rohtak junction, Lakhan Majra, Lahali, Makdoli and Rohad, waved BKU flags and raised slogans against the government. Officials said four trains, including the Chandigarh-New Delhi Shatabdi, were fully cancelled while 14 mail and express trains were halted in Ambala. Farmers squatted on railway tracks in several districts of west UP and Terai region in Uttarakhand, delaying trains for hours and leaving passengers stranded on the stations.

The Times of India

2021-10-19

India