Amritsar: Farmers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) block a railway track during a protest to press for their various demands, at Devidaspura in Amritsar district. (PTI Photo)Twenty-two trains were cancelled and 13 were diverted as Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee sat on a dharna at the main Amritsar-Delhi railway line near Jandiala Guru of Amritsar on Monday afternoon.
Hundreds of protesters started the dharna on the railway track at around 1:30 pm. Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Shivdular Singh Dhillon and SSP Parmpal Gandhi had reached the dharna spot to start negotiations with protestors till filling of this report.
The committee behind the protest had been on a dharna in front Tarn Taran Deputy Commissioner’s office since March 1, however, they rued that no official came to listen them. The outfit had also blocked the Amritsar-Bathinda road for several hours on Saturday.
“We asked the government to either accept our demands or send us to jail. They did not respond, so we decided to block rail traffic to push for our demands,” said Satnam Singh Pannu.
The sudden dharna started by farmers brought rail traffic to a halt at Amritsar railways station. Amritsar railway station officials confirmed that they were forced to cancel 22 trains and divert 13 trains via Pathankot and Tarn Taran due to the dharna.
Pannu said, “Our demands are not new. We want implementation of Swaminathan report. Sugarcane farmers should be paid their dues. Captain Amarinder Singh government in the state should waive off all the debts of farmers and labourers as it had promised in their election manifesto.”
