Farmers’ four-hour ‘rail roko’ protest today, Railways ready

Tribune News Service

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Amritsar, February 17

The local railway authorities and the Railway Protection Force have geared up to handle the movement of trains as per the four-hour ‘rail roko’ call given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha for tomorrow between 12pm and 4pm.

Ashok Salaria, Area Officer, Amritsar Railway Station, stated that all station masters and other staff, apart from the RPF, were on alert. He said since only four trains were being run daily, that too through a diverted route, the Amritsar-Tarn Taran-Beas, only one train will be affected due to the railway blockade tomorrow. This train is Shaheed Express (04674), which departs at 1.05 pm. Tomorrow, the train will depart after 4 pm.

Activists of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), who have been blocking the Amritsar-Delhi railway at the Jandiala Guru railway station, about 10 km from Amritsar, for the past many months, announced that its members would block railway crossings at the Vallah sabji mandi, Beas station, Amritsar-Jammu railway line, Amritsar-Dera Baba Nanak and Amritsar-Tarn Taran routes.

Sawinder Singh, senior vice-president of the KMSC, said their activists would block rail traffic at 31 places in 11 districts tomorrow. He informed that their demands included repeal of the three agriculture laws, reduction in fuel prices by 50 per cent, guarantee procurement of all crops and abrogation of cases registered during the farmers’ agitation. The agitating farmers blocking the railway line has always allowed goods trains to pass, he said.