Farmers’ ‘rail roko’ protest LIVE updates: The agitation commenced at around 9 am and farmers from 12 villages participated in the Aurangabad protest, the farmer union said
Farmers’ ‘rail roko’ protest LATEST updates: The 'rail roko' protest in Uttar Pradesh remained peaceful, with farmers organising token protests near railway tracks and stations in the state, PTI reported. Farmers protested in Chitrakoot, Hamipur, Mahoba, Lalitpur, Fatehpur, Amethi and other districts of the state, demanding the repeal of the three contentious laws.
In Banda, farmers squatted on a railway track for some time and left after giving a memorandum addressed to the President regarding their demands, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mahendra Pratap Singh Chauhan said.
In Chitrakoot, 100 famers were detained while they tried to stop the rail movement, ASP Shailendra Kumar Rai said. All the detained farmers were taken to the police lines and later they were set free, he added.
Members of a farmers' union staged a 'rail roko' at the Lasur railway station in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district on Thursday to protest against the Centre's three farm laws. At least 12 people were detained that the agitation staged by Lal Bawta Shet Majur Union at Lasur station, around 40 kilometres from Aurangabad, PTI reported.
"The Jalna-Mumbai Janshatabdi train was stopped at the station for around 30 minutes. We have detained around 12 agitators and further probe is underway," the official from the railway police said. The agitation commenced at around 9 am and farmers from 12 villages participated in the protest, president of the union Ram Bharti said.
Entry and exit at four metro stations, including at the Tikri border, one of the epicentres of the farmers' agitation, were shut by the DMRC authorities for nearly four hours on Thursday in view of the security situation due to a rail blockade called by the protesters.
The Tikri Border metro station is near the site where the farmers are protesting against three new agriculture laws of the Centre.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tweeted to inform the commuters about the closure of entry and exit at these four stations.
With farmers on Thursday blocking railway tracks across the country, protesters at Singhu said it "proves that the agitation is not just limited to Punjab and Haryana".
"The government has constantly been saying that the protest against the three farm laws is being staged by the farmers of just two states, Punjab and Haryana, but the rail roko andolan shows that the government is wrong.
"Farmers from so many states have participated. That is why it was important for us to protest on the railway tracks. Like the railways that has a nationwide network, our protest is also happening across the country," Krantikari Kisan Union's Gurdaspur district president Bhajan Singh said.
Around 25 trains have been regulated in the northern zone due to the 'rail roko' call by farmers protesting the three agri laws on Thursday, a zonal railway spokesperson said. He, however, said there has been minimum effect of the agitation on the railways till now.
"Around 25 trains have been regulated so far. There has been minimum effect on rail services due to the agitation," Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar said. Regulating trains means they have been either cancelled, short terminated or rerouted.
While the complete details of the effects of 'rail roko' call has not yet been provided by the railways, PTI reported that its effects could be seen in Ambala where a huge group had congregated.
A train was cancelled and a few others were delayed as farmers squatted on tracks as part of their agitation against the Centre's farm laws in Rajasthan on Thursday.
The Rewari-Sri Ganganagar special train was cancelled due to the farmers' "rail roko" agitation, said chief spokesperson of the North-Western Railway, Gaurav Gaur. He, however, said the protest by farmers was largely symbolic and claimed that not much impact was seen in the areas under the North-Western Railway.
Farmers staged demonstrations on tracks at several places. They stopped a train in Jaipur and climbed on its engine. When RPF personnel dissuaded them, they sat on tracks. Looking at the agitation near Malakhera, a train was halted at the Rajgarh station by the railway authorities.
Members of various organisations and political parties on Thursday held a 'rail roko' agitation at the Pune railway station on Thursday. Labour welfare activist Nitin Pawar said that members of political parties like the Congress, Shiv Sena, NCP, Janata Dal and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), took part in the rail roko agitation in Pune.
The protesters blocked the Koyna Express and shouted slogans by standing in front of the train, he said. A Railway Protection Force (RPF) official said that a case was registered against three activists, including Pawar, for unauthorisedly coming on the railway platform, crossing the railway tracks and raising slogans.
"The case against them was registered under relevant sections of the Railway Act," the official said
Security has been tightened in both Haryana and Punjab with personnel of the government railway police and the state police forces being deployed.
The Ferozepur division of the Northern Railways has decided to halt trains at stations so that passengers face less inconvenience during the 'rail roko' protest.
The officials said that the movement of trains is likely to be delayed because of the farmers' rail blockade. Train services will be resumed after following due security protocols once the agitation is over, they said.
The call for a nationwide rail roko campaign by the farmer leaders in Delhi against the Centre's farm laws evoked a mixed response in Karnataka. In Bengaluru, the protest was low-key but there was a good turnout of protesters in Raichur, Belagavi and Davangere, PTI reported.
The agitation reportedly took place in Yeshwanthpur Railway station in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Raichur, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Davangere, Hubballi-Dharwad, Koppal and Kolar. The agitators tried in vain to storm into the railway station to stop the trains.
In Raichur, Belagavi and Davangere, protesters were arrested, the report added. In Bengaluru, the agitation was led by farmer-leader Kuruburu Shanthakumar but there was no great impact.
Farmers on Thursday sat on railway tracks at many places in Punjab and Haryana as part of the 'rail roko' protest against the Centre's new agri laws, with officials stopping trains at stations as a precautionary measure.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions which is spearheading the protest, last week had announced the nationwide rail blockade to press for its demand to repeal the legislations and had said that the agitation will be from 12 pm to 4 pm.
There were reports that farmers at Kurukshetra in Haryana climbed on the locomotive of the Gita Jayanti Express train, which was stationary at that time. "The train was scheduled to leave from the Kurukshetra station after 3 pm," a railway official in Kurukshetra said.
In Punjab, protesters sat on tracks at many places on the Delhi-Ludhiana-Amritsar railway route, officials said.
Farmers blocked the Jalandhar Cantt-Jammu railway track in Jalandhar and in Mohali district also farmers blocked a rail track, they said.
In Haryana, protesting farmers, including women, squatted on rail tracks at many places, including in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Panchkula and Fatehabad (Bhattu Kalan) districts, the officials said.
On the Ambala-Delhi railway section, a group of farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader from Ambala, Gulab Singh, squatted on a rail track at Shahpur village, about 2 kilometres from the Ambala Cantt station.
"Our protest will continue in a peaceful manner till the farm laws are repealed," Bhartiya Kisan Union leader from Ambala Gulab Singh Manakpur said.
Security has been tightened in both Haryana and Punjab with personnel of the government railway police and the state police forces being deployed, officials said.
The Ferozepur division of the Northern Railways has decided to halt trains at stations so that passengers face less inconvenience during the 'rail roko' protest.
The officials said that the movement of trains is likely to be delayed because of the farmers' rail blockade. Train services will be resumed after following due security protocols once the agitation is over, they said.
In Haryana, besides railway police personnel, the Haryana Police has deployed its staff in large numbers near the protest sites and at various railway stations.
Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala Division, G M Singh said that no train has been cancelled in view of the 'rail roko' agitation. Four trains were scheduled to pass from Ambala between 12 to 4 pm, railway officials said.
Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) members will block railway tracks at 22 places, including at Nabha, Mansa, Barnala, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Jalandhar and Tarn Taran, in Punjab, the organisation's general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said.
Thousands of farmers have been protesting since late November at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
The protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations.
However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.
