Farmers in Punjab begin three-day 'rail roko' protest

Members of various farmers' bodies on Thursday squatted on train tracks at several places in Punjab as they began a three-day 'rail roko' agitation over their various demands, including financial package for losses caused by recent floods, legal guarantee to MSP and debt waiver.

According to protesters, the agitation against the Centre will continue till September 30. The farmers have planned to hold agitations in Moga, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, Patiala, Ferozepur, Bathinda, and Amritsar.

In Amritsar, farmers squatted on the Amritsar-Delhi railway track in Devidas Pura.

Several farmer bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Krantikari), BKU (Ekta Azaad), Azaad Kisan Committee Doaba, BKU (Behramke), BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh), and BKU (Chottu Ram), were participating in the protest.

Their demands include a financial package for flood-affected people in north India, a legal guarantee for minimum support price on all crops and a debt waiver for farmers.

In Amritsar, farmer leader Gurbachan Singh said the farmers are demanding a Rs 50,000-crore flood relief package for north Indian states and MSP as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report.

The entire debt of farmers and labourers should be waived, he said and also demanded Rs 10 lakh compensation and a government job for the family of each farmer who died during the agitation against the now-repealed three farm laws.