Trains stopped at many places amid farmers’ ‘Rail Roko’ agitation

Mangalore Today News Network / Yahoo

New Delhi, Feb 18, 2021:     Farmers who have been protesting at Delhi’s borders for months to repeal the three farm laws are holding a four-hour nationwide ‘rail roko’ protest, spearheaded by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) between 12 pm and 4 pm on Thursday, 18 February.

 

Trains have been stopped at the Sawai Madhopur railway station in Rajasthan due to the farmers’ protest on railway tracks, The Hindu reported. They have also blocked railway tracks in Palwal, ANI reported.

Twenty-five trains all across Northern Railway have been regulated as the agitation took off, reported IANS. Meanwhile, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) has stepped up security measures and deployed 20 additional companies across Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Haryana to prevent any untoward incident.

Bharatiya Kisan Union’s Rakesh Tikait said to ANI that the demonstration will be a peaceful one, and any stranded passengers will be given water, beverages, and fruits.

Additional Deployment

In light of the agitation, ANI reported that there has been additional deployment of Delhi police personnel at Nangloi railway station, as well as in Haryana’s Palwal railway station and Ghaziabad Junction in Uttar Pradesh.

Tikri Border, Pandit Shree Ram Sharma, Bahadurgarh City, and Brig Hoshiar Singh metro stations have been closed, announced the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The Railways officials are expecting most agitations to be in Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, reported PTI.

Kumar appealed to all to maintain peace, and added, “We will be liaising with district administrations and will have a control room in place,” quoted PTI.

So far, no officials have announced a decision on train movement in the country in the backdrop of the rail blockade. “Once we get a better picture of the status of the protests and have identified sensitive spots, we will put in place a plan of action. We have around 80 trains that run through potentially sensitive areas and most of them would have passed through them before 12 pm," an official said to PTI.

Spearheaded by SKM

A day ahead of the protests, SKM, a body of farmer unions accused the BJP-led Centre of “counter and destroy” the demonstrations instead of trying to resolve the farmers’ issues.

The 18 February rail roko protest was announced by the farmer group in a bid to escalate the protest against the Centre’s three agriculture laws.

Thousands of farmers have been protesting against the agriculture laws for over 75 days. While the government has expressed possibility for amendments and given a 1.5-year stay on the laws, the farmer bodies have been agitating for their complete revocation.