Farmers Movement Archive

Rail roko by farmers delays trains

BHUBANESWAR: Several trains were delayed due to the rail roko staged by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a united front of farmers’ outfits, across the country between 10 am and 4 pm on Monday demanding dismissal of Union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra in connection with the murder of farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh. Two trains, including a goods train, were detained at the Bhubaneswar station by protestors for around 30 minutes. The Bhubaneswar-Secunderabad Special was detained at the Berhampur station for around 50 minutes by around 200 agitators . The rail roko was staged at Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore, Paralakhemundi, Talcher, Paradip, Keonjhar, Sambalpur and Rourkela stations too. Though the farmer leaders had called for rail roko for six hours, the trains were detained for an average 30 minutes. Long-distance trains like Konark Express Special was running an hour late while filing of the report, the Amritsar-Visakhapatnam Special was two hours behind schedule and trains from North India were also running late. “I came to Bhubaneswar for a cousin’s engagement. But the train got delayed by more than two hours due to protests at some stations on the way to my destination,” said Maninder from Amritsar. Suresh Panigrahy from SKM said they organised the rail roko peacefully at different railway stations in the state. Congress along with Left parties extended their support to the agitation. Pradesh Kisan Congress president Amiya Kumar Patnaik said the Centre should not suppress the voice of farmers by using pressure tactics. “We demand withdrawal of the draconian farm laws,” Patnaik added.

The Times of India

2021-10-19

Bhubaneswar