40 trains on Ambala-Amritsar route cancelled on Day 3 of farmers’ protest
About 40 trains have been cancelled, while the routes of 54 trains have been diverted, the railways officials said
Rail traffic on the Ambala-Amritsar route remained it for the third day also as farmers remained squatted on rail tracks in Shambhu near the Punjab-Haryana border on Friday, officials said.
About 40 trains have been cancelled, while the routes of 54 trains have been diverted, they said.
The farmers have been protesting under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) in Shambhu, demanding the release of three farmers arrested by the Haryana police.
Three farmers, including Navdeep Jalbera, Gurkirat Shahpur and Anish Khatkar, were arrested during the ongoing farmers’ stir.
Navdeep and Gurkirat were arrested on February 28 near Mohali international airport, while Anish Khatkar was arrested on March 19 by Haryana Police in a murder bid case registered on February 13 relating to ongoing farmers’ agitation on the Haryana-Punjab border.
Farmer leaders claim that Anish Khatkar had been on hunger strike since his arrest, and his health was deteriorating with each passing day.
The farmers squatted on the tracks on the Ambala-Ludhiana-Amritsar route on Wednesday.
With their protest continuing for the third day, the railway traffic on Friday was also hit, causing inconvenience to passengers, the railway officials said.
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said the protest will continue until the three farmers are released.
The SKM (non-political) and the KMM are spearheading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by farmers to press the government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The farmers have been staying put at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 when their march was stopped by the security forces.