Home Guard jawan slaps protesting woman in Gurdaspur, farmers block rail tracks

Tribune Reporters

Jalandhar/Ferozepur, May 18

At least, eight trains were cancelled, two short-terminated and 12 rescheduled today after farmers blocked railway tracks at the Jalandhar Cantt railway station following slapping of a woman protester by a Home Guard jawan in Gurdaspur yesterday. The protest was being staged against land acquisition in Gurdaspur.

The farmers blocked the tracks demanding the cancellation of an FIR against protesters in Gurdaspur and a written assurance by the Chief Minister to hold a meeting with them on the issue.

They said until the demands were met, the dharna would not be lifted.

With the tracks being blocked, thousands of passenegers were affected.

Hundreds of farmers of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee began the dharna at the Jalandhar station from 1 pm. Farmers raised slogans against the state government.

State president of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) Sarwan Singh Sabhra said the government was responsible for the dharna. They said as long as they didn’t receive the money, they won’t allow the NHAI to acquire their lands. “We also need a written assurance from the CM. The dharna will go on until the government gives the assurance in writing to us,” he said.

The trains which were cancelled included Khemkaran-Bhagtawala Special Express (06943 and 06944 up and down), Beas-Tarn Taran Special (04751 and 04752 up and down), Hoshiarpur-Jalandhar Express Special (06955), Jalandhar City-Hoshiarpur Express Special (06960) and Ludhiana-Ferozepur (04997 & 04998 up and down).

The trains which were short-terminated included Ludhiana-Amritsar DEMU (04591 and 04592 up and down).

The 12 trains which were rescheduled included Ferozepur Cantt- Jalandhar City Express Special (06966), Ferozepur Cantt-Jalandhar Express Special (04638), Jalandhar City-Ferozepur Cantt Express Special (04169), Fazilka-Abohar Bathinda Express Special (04552), Ferozepur-Cantt-Fazilka DEMU (06989), Amritsar-Jaynagar Shaheed Express (14674), Amritsar-New Delhi Shan-e-Punjab Express (12498), Amritsar- Nangal Dam Jammu Tawi Express (14605), Amritsar-Ajmer Express (19612), Amritsar-New Delhi Shatabdi Express (12032), Ferozepur-Cantt-Dhanbad Express (13308) and Lohian Khas-New Delhi Sarbat Da Bhala Express (22480).