Farmers block rail traffic for hours

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 29

Members of the Kisan Sangharsh Committee blocked the Amritsar-Delhi rail route for about five hours today, seeking the implementation of their demands, including total debt waiver.

They also sought the immediate release of compensation of Rs5 lakh each for families of farmers who committed suicide and cancellation of cases registered against protesters by the Railway Protection Force.

The farmers staged a sit-in at Manawala village, over 10 km from the city. District officials led by DC Kamaldeep Singh Sangha and SSP (Rural) Parampal Singh reached the spot. The dharna was lifted around 6:30 pm after the protesters’ meeting with Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh was fixed. The meeting will be held at Kisan Bhawan, Chandigarh, on October 16.

A farmer leader, Sarwan Singh Pandher, said the officials had assured them that the demands already accepted by the government would be implemented before the meeting, including employment on compassionate grounds to kin of farmers who died during various protests, immediate release of power connections to those who had deposited the requisite fee, and an increase in the power load for tubewell connections.

Kisan Sangharsh Committee president Satnam Singh Pannu said both the Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government and the Narendra Modi-led NDA government were pursuing “anti-farmer” policies. “The government has imposed a fine of Rs2,500 to Rs15,000 for stubble burning, but there is no policy to guide farmers on the ways to manage stubble,” said Pannu.

In Ferozepur, farmers sat on the tracks at the Basti Tankan Wali railway crossing, hitting rail traffic and causing inconvenience to the commuters.

With inputs from Anirudh Gupta, Ferozepur