At least 25 trains were cancelled and seven others diverted on Tuesday as protesting farmers blocked railway tracks in Punjab's Amritsar, a Northern Railways statement said. The agitation has left scores of passengers moving to and from Amritsar stranded.
Two trains – the New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express and the New Delhi-Amritsar Shan-E-Punjab Express – were short-terminated in Jalandhar City and Beas town respectively. The trains which were cancelled include the New Delhi -Jalandhar Intercity Express, Amritsar-Haridwar Jan Shatabdi Express, Haridwar-Amritsar Jan Shatabdi Express, Chandigarh-Amritsar Superfast Express, and the Nangaldam-Amritsar Express.
Trains which have been diverted include the Delhi-Pathankot Superfast Express, Amritsar-New Delhi Shatabdi Express, and the Amritsar-Sealdha Akal Takht Express. The farmers are staging a protest to press for various demands, including the implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report.
The farmers are protesting against the failure of cotton crops due to pest attacks. They have accused the government of providing them with low-quality pesticides and are demanding appropriate compensation for their damaged crops.
The farmer groups will be blocking rail traffic at several places for two days. As part of their plan to intensify their agitation, eight farmers' organizations, including BKU Ekta (Dakunda), BKU Ekta (Ugrahan), BKU (Krantikari), Kirti Kisan Union will disrupt train movements for two days in the state.
Among various other demands, farmers in Punjab have been demanding Rs 40,000 per acre compensation for those whose crop got damaged by the white-fly attack, Rs 20,000 per family compensation for farm labour, Rs 4,500 per quintal rate for basmati PUSA 1509 variety, and Rs 5,000 per quintal for basmati PUSA 1121 variety.
