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Several trains on the Ambala-Shri Ganganagar route were cancelled on Thursday due to the 'Rail roko' protest by farmers of Punjab, demanding financial aid for the losses incurred during the floods, and Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantee.
Ambala district is located on the border of Punjab. Meanwhile, passengers were seen waiting at the Ambala railway station with their families and all their luggage. A passenger, distressed due to the cancellation of the train, said that the authorities should not have provided the ticket beyond Ambala. "If the trains had to be cancelled in Ambala, the Railway authorities should not have provided tickets beyond Ambala. Even the money was not returned to us. Now, tell us how we go to our homes. We have our elderly parents along with us. Very few buses are available during the night and taxis are a rip-off", a passenger told ANI. Another passenger said, "The farmers had announced in advance that they would block the railway tracks. But instead, we were given the tickets. All are distressed here. Now, we are stuck here. We will have to see how we manage to stay at night". Farmers in Punjab's Amritsar led by the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee held a three-day 'rail blockade' on Thursday raising demands for financial aid against the losses incurred during the floods, and a Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantee. Sarwan Singh Pandher of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, who was present at the protest said, "If anyone tries to be unfair with the farmers of Punjab, then farmers from Haryana will also join Punjab farmers. Farmers are united throughout the country." Pandher further said that at "Devi Dasspura thousands of farmers have gathered in their tractors and bikes to hold an agitation demanding compensation over losses considering the floods in north India which have affected the crops." "The agitation has been called by 18 unions in North India. Home Minister Amit Shah came to Amritsar and he promised to bring MSP guarantee law but the committee has not been formed yet. The cases that had been registered during the Delhi agitation have not been withdrawn," Pandher said. "The farmers who lost their lives, and their families have not got the compensation and jobs which was assured. The victims have not got justice in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. We have demanded 50,000 crore as compensation for the floods. The drugs that are being supplied through drones are not being checked at the borders. The protest is against the central government," he added. Police official Balvir S Ghuman said that massive security has been deployed to deal with the situation. In addition, 18 trains of the Firozpur division have been affected as members of various farmers' bodies squatted on train tracks here on Thursday as part of the three-day 'Rail-Roko' agitation. (ANI)
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