3-hour ‘rail roko’ brings Ludhiana to halt

Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 29

A group of farmers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) held ‘rail roko’ protest for three-hours (from 12 noon to 3 pm) across the state over the pending demands of farmers.

Railway officials said as a result of protesters squatting on railway tracks, nine passenger trains were cancelled at different places in the state and 22429 Delhi Jn-Pathankot Express was detained at Ludhiana for over three hours and later diverted towards its destination through a different route between Jalandhar and Pathankot. Some other long-route trains were running late due to fog or operational reasons.

Make MSP legal guarantee

Our issues include MSP as a legal guarantee, clarity on the Zira liquor factory, better compensation for farmers, release of the pending dues of sugarcane farmers and cut in user charges at toll plazas. Sarwan Singh Pandher, General Secy, KMSC

KMSC general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said even after several rounds of meetings with government functionaries, none of the demands of farmers were accepted.

“Our issues include MSP (minimum support price) for crops as a legal guarantee, clarity on the Zira liquor factory, better compensations for farmers and immediate release of payment against pending dues of sugarcane farmers. We also want the government to reduce user charges at toll plazas,” Pandher said.