Rail services in Punjab were disrupted today after agitating farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) stopped trains at several places, protesting against tardy wheat procurement and demanding higher compensation for damaged crops due to inclement weather.
"Railway section between Jalandhar and Amritsar was severely affected because of farmers agitation for the last several hours, causing great inconvenience to passengers including women and children," Divisional Railway Manager of Ferozepur Division Anuj Prakash told PTI.
Among the affected trains, Amritsar Mail (13005), Nangaldam-Amritsar Express (14506), New Delhi-Amritsar Swarna Shatabdi Express(12029) were stopped due to agitation at Butari, Dhilwan and Beas respectively while Saharsa-Amritsar (15531), Shane Punjab (12497), Saryuyamuna Express (14650) were stopped at Suranussi, Kartarpur and Jandiala Guru, officials said.
"We had forewarned the state government about the farmers' agitation," Prakash said adding that maintaining law and order was the job of state authorities.
Prakash further said that senior officials from Amritsar had been holding talks with the agitating farmers to allow the movement of trains.
"We hope good sense prevails and situation becomes normal," he said.
Initially, farmers in small strength tried to disrupt the railway traffic in the morning but as the day progressed, the strength of protesters grew to more than thousand, affecting rail services badly, rail officials said.
Bhartiya Kisan Union Ekta (Ugrahan) and Kisan Sangarsh Committee today jointly organised a "rail roko" agitation to highlight their demands for compensation for crop loss due to unseasonal rain and relaxation in procurement norms.
Besides seeking higher compensation for crop loss due to inclement weather conditions, farmers have also been demanding a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal over and above minimum support price (MSP) of wheat.
