Day 2: Commuters sweat it out, govt unmoved : The Tribune India

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Rail roko agitation

Day 2: Commuters sweat it out, govt unmoved

MOGA/BATHINDA:Train and road traffic was hit in the state for the second day today as thousands of farmers seeking higher compensation for crops damaged in the whitefly attack continued their stir.

Day 2: Commuters sweat it out, govt unmoved

Passengers stuck at the Jalandhar railway station following cancellation of trains due to farmers’ agitation on Thursday



Tribune News Service

Moga/Bathinda, October 8

Train and road traffic was hit in the state for the second day today as thousands of farmers seeking higher compensation for crops damaged in the whitefly attack continued their stir.

BKU (Ekta) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri said a meeting of the coordination committee of various farm organisations was held at Moga today, in which it was decided to extend the agitation because neither the union government nor the state government had responded to the genuine demands of the farmers’ community.

“All farm organisations have felt that the SAD-BJP government is not serious to the plight of the farmers who have suffered heavy losses to the cotton crop due to the sale of spurious pesticides and bad weather conditions,” he said.

Lashing out at Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal for levelling allegations on farm unions for politicising the issue, Kokri said their agitation was purely non-political in nature for the genuine demands of the farmers and farm labourers.

He warned the government against taking into custody hundreds of farmers across the state and said such arrests would not thwart them from carrying out the protests. He said the cancer train from Abohar to Bikaner was free to pass through all cities/towns in the Malwa belt and would not be stopped by the farmers at any place.

“We request the railway authorities to continue with the services of cancer train in the interest of the patients,” he said.

As many as 130 farmers in Bathinda were rounded up, but were later released in the evening. The police did not register any case against the farmers.

Commuters continued to face inconvenience as railway tracks were blocked at six places in the state.

Since yesterday around 25 trains have been suspended from the Bathinda junction following blockade by farmers on the railway lines, including Bathinda-Bikaner, Bathinda-Ambala, Bathinda-Delhi, Bathinda-Rewari and Bathinda-Suratgarh. The two routes, including Bathinda-Ferozepur and Bathinda-Ganganagar were opened, revealed a railway official. 

In Mansa too, the farmers blocked all routes to Delhi from the Bathinda station.

Bathinda SSP Inder Mohan Singh Bhatti said, “We have not registered any case against the farmers as we are looking forward to the Government Railway Police to register the case. Our efforts are on to counter the farmers’ agitation as we are planning not to allow them to stage protest tomorrow morning.”

Sangrur: Hundreds of farmers staged a dharna at a bridge on the Sunam-Lehragaga road at Lehragaga in Sangrur district on today. About 200 activists of the Zamin Prapti Sangharsh Committee (ZPSC) were on Thursday rounded up in Sangrur. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sangrur, Gurpreet Singh Dhindsa said they were let off in the evening.

Stir may hit defence supply, NRIs’ leave plans 

Jalandhar: The extension of the farmers’ agitation by two days may hit the goods supply to defence and other major security agencies. The agitation may also hit the leave plans of NRIs along with those of security forces and the migratory population. Anuj Prakash, Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepur division, said: “We have cancelled around 110 trains in the past two days and are expected to cancel many more in the next two days. This besides affecting the goods supply to the region is also going to hit the leave plans of NRIs and security personnel.” He added that though he had received demands of around 10 special trains from various defence establishments, he would not be able to provide them on time. Defence spokesperson Naresh Wig said the agitation so far had not affected them. However, the railway authorities feel that it may hit them later as it would take at least a month to streamline the traffic in the region. — Rachna Khaira

AAP supports stir 

Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party, Punjab, has extended full support to the agitating farmers and farm labourers in the whole state. The AAP said the government was solely responsible for the failure of the cotton crop. The crop failed due to spurious seed coupled with spurious insecticides sold in collusion with the government machinery. “The minister concerned can’t escape the responsibility as he is supposed to exercise control over the department,” he said. — TNS

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