400 protesting farmers block Asr-Pathankot railway observe
Gurdaspur, February 22
Practically 400 farmers on Wednesday blocked the Amritsar-Pathankot railway observe on the native railway station placing tons of of passengers to inconvenience.
The protesters had been demanding a authorized assure on the wheat and paddy MSPs, withdrawal of instances registered in opposition to their colleagues throughout the agriculture legal guidelines stir and cost of sugarcane arrears. One more concern that cropped up was the quantity of compensation that was being given to these farmers whose agricultural land was being acquired by the Nationwide Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the proposed Delhi-Katra expressway. The farmers claimed that compensation that was being given was “on the decrease aspect and wanted to be considerably enhanced”.
The agriculturists had been led by Sarwan Singh Pandher, a pacesetter of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee.
The protest evoked sturdy reactions from most people. “I fail to grasp the logic of farm unions in blocking nationwide highways and railway tracks. Why is the travelling public being harassed? Are we those who’re going to take a call on the calls for of the farmers? What are they gaining by stopping trains? When will they perceive that blocking rail and highway site visitors takes them nowhere,” mentioned Mohan Singh, a traveller, who stored ready on the Gurdaspur railway station for a number of hours.
He needed to catch a practice to Pathankot, however returned dwelling after a railway official advised him that the farmers weren’t relenting. There have been many extra like Mohan Singh who needed to return dwelling dejected.
SSP Harish Damaya mentioned safety preparations had been put in place within the morning itself. He mentioned a SP-rank officer was in-charge of safety.
Since early morning, scores of cops might be seen positioned on the highway resulting in the railway station.
SDM Amandeep Kaur Ghuman dealt with the negotiations on the a part of the district administration. Batala SDM Shayari Bhandari, SP Prithipal Singh and DSP Sukhpal Singh Randhawa had been additionally a part of the negotiating staff.
The protesters, regardless of the most effective efforts of the Amandeep Kaur-led staff, appeared to be in no temper to relent. “It’s a do-or-die battle now. The federal government is in no temper to take heed to our grievances,” mentioned a farmer.
A farm chief mentioned he and his fellow protesters would meet Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal earlier than deciding on their future plan of action.
Seema Sharma, Divisional Railway Supervisor, Ferozepur, reached the location and she or he together with the DC began confabulations with the farmers. Sources mentioned she had agreed to re-route trains working on the Amritsar-Pathankot part until the deadlock was damaged.
Protest on rly tracks leaves passengers in lurch
Amritsar: Passengers of about 4 pairs of trains on Wednesday had been an inconvenienced lot because the motion of trains on the Amritsar-Pathankot rail line was stalled right here as a result of blockade close to Gurdaspur by farmer organisations.