Farmers protest to affect movement of trains in Punjab, Haryana: Railways

Train services were disrupted in Punjab and some areas in Haryana on Friday due to the 'Rail Roko' agitation over Farm Bills.

The Indian Railways cancelled, short terminated or diverted several special passengers trains, parcel and freight trains in Punjab and Haryana.

In Punjab and Haryana, several farmers organisations called for a three-day protest from Thursday against the three Farm Bills that were passed by the Parliament - The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020.

As many as 20 trains have been partially cancelled while five have been short terminated and two diverted.

Due to the protest, the Ferozepur Railway division suspended the operation of special trains and rescheduled freight and parcel trains.

The Indian Railways had earlier said that "Punjab Rail Agitation will severely impact loading of foodgrains and other essential goods. It will hurt ordinary citizens and fast recovering Rail Freight and economy."

The Railways officials said Food Corporation of India ( FCI ) has been loading more than 35 rakes of food grains daily from Punjab.

Besides, Punjab also loads 9-10 rakes daily of fertilizer, cement, auto, mixed goods in containers. The state receives around 20 rakes daily of coal, food grain, farm products, machinery petroleum products and imported fertilizer, said an official.