Farmers Rail Roko stir hits trains services in Punjab, Haryana

Rail passengers had a tough time in Punjab and Haryana as BJP Kisan Morcha workers stopped trains at several places, demanding implementation of the recommendations of the MS Swaminathan Committee and Rs 500 bonus per quintal on wheat.

Train services were hit in both the states as the activists in response to the Rail Roko call given by the Morcha in eight states did not allow movement of trains for one to two hours, railway officials said.

Rail traffic was disrupted at Amritsar, Phagwara, Sahnewal, Sangrur and Bathinda in Punjab and Bhiwani, Faridabad, Panipat, Tohana and Ambala in Haryana.

"Movement of at least 7 to 8 trains was disrupted between 10:45 am till 1 pm in our division due to the protest," Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepur Division, V Chaubey said.

The trains which were most affected included Amritsar-Derababa Nanak, Hisar-Amritsar, Amritsar-Bihar, Katihar Express, Indore Jammu Malwa Express and Shaane Punjab.

A report from Phagwara said protesters also burnt an effigy of Congress-led UPA government and raised slogans against the Centre for its alleged anti-farmer policies.

A military special train had to be stopped at the outskirts of Phagwara railway station due to the agitation.

The protesting Morcha leaders said that today's Rail Roko protest was a symbolic protest to warn the UPA government to accept the demands of the farming community.

"If the UPA government does not solve problems of farmers at the earliest, BJP Kisan Morcha would resort to decisive agitation," they said.

The protesters have been demanding Rs 500 per quintal as bonus over and above the Minimum Support Price of Rs 1,285 per quintal of wheat for current season. They rued that the MSP was not adequate to recover farmers' input cost.

BJP Kisan Morcha had also been demanding that the Centre should implement M S Swaminathan committee report which had suggested that 50 per cent of total input cost should be added into MSP as profit and effective steps to contain farmers' suicide.