Farmers in several parts of Punjab on Thursday started a three-day ‘rail roko’ agitation under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Samiti and other farmer outfits against the Union government’s three agriculture sector Bills.
The Railways has cancelled at least 14 pairs of special trains running from the Ferozepur division from September 24 to 26 following the strike call. The national transporter has indicated that the decision has been taken keeping in mind the safety of passengers and the protection of railway property. The agitation is also expected to affect the freight traffic too, which was on road to recovery.
“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,” said a railways official. Punjab loaded 990 rakes in the month of August and 816 rakes so far in the month of September. An additional loading of over 35 rakes of food grains daily from Punjab according to FCI.
In addition to this, Punjab also loads nine to ten rakes daily consisting of fertilizer, cement, auto and mixed goods in Containers. In what may hurt the state economy, it receives 20 rakes daily of coal, food grain, farm products, machinery, petroleum products and imported fertilizer.
The passenger trains that got cancelled include Golden Temple Mail (Amritsar-Mumbai Central), Jan Shatabdi Express (Haridwar-Amritsar), New Delhi-Jammu Tawi (Rajdhani) and Karambhoomi express (Amritsar-New Jalpaiguri).
Interestingly, another farmer organization, Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements (ICCFM), representing 12 farmers' organizations across India based in UP, MP, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Haryana. Bharatiya Kisan Union, Karnataka State Farmers Association and Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangham has called for a complete nationwide Bandh on Friday.
“We farmers have been demanding fair and remunerative prices for the past four decades. The BJP government made election promises of doubling farmers' incomes. Instead of fulfilling that promise, we are being slapped with these bills designed to end the governments' responsibility to ensure a fair price to farmers. When seen in totality, these bills have nothing to do with improving farmers' incomes, over 80 per cent of whom are small and marginal farmers,” said Yudhvir Singh, National Convener of ICCFM.
Another farmers’ body All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) too said that it will also take up a nationwide protest if MSP is not guaranteed and crop price and food security of poor is handed over to multi-nationals and corporate houses. “The Prime Minister has just passed a law which allows corporate and MNCs to openly start Mandis and Silos in rural areas, which they were banned hitherto before. AIKSCC calls upon all farmers, peasants, agriculture workers, tribals, fishermen, rural traders all over the country and trade unions, parties and democratic forces to join the movement,” AIKSCC said in a statement.
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