The Railways has announced that as many as 28 special trains operating in Punjab have been cancelled on account of a blockade of railway lines by farmers' groups.
Farmers groups had called for a 'rail roko' protest from Thursday to Saturday in opposition to three farm bills passed by the Centre recently.
Rajesh Aggarwal, divisional railway manager for Ferozepur division, told The Indian Express, "In order to protect our property and also for the safety of passengers, all passenger trains running from Ferozepur division have been cancelled for these days... Movement of goods trains will be done as per the situation."
The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, which had called for the rail roko last week, began its agitation on Thursday morning. Activists of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee were seen squatting on railway tracks in Amritsar and Ferozepur.
On Wednesday, 31 farmers’ groups called for an indefinite rail roko from October 1. The Indian Express reported the move was prompted by fears the Akali Dal, an ally of the BJP opposed to the farmer sector bills, was allegedly attempting to hijack the protests.
The Indian Express reported "The Akali Dal on Tuesday announced a state-wide ‘chakka jam’ on September 25 as well as a simultaneous ‘kisan march’ from all three Sikh religious Takhts in the state—the Akal Takht, the supreme of all five Sikh Takhts, in Amritsar, Takht Keshgarh Sahib and Takht Damdama Sahib—to Mohali on October 1," to present a memorandum to the governor seeking repeal of the farm bills.
Harjinder Singh Ravi, press secretary of Sangharsh Committee, was quoted by The Indian Express as saying, “We strongly condemn the Akali Dal decision to call a chakka jam on the same day for which we have given a call for Punjab Bandh.”
