In a bid to escalate their ongoing protest and draw attention to their various demands, protestors leader Sarwan Singh Pandher announced on Sunday that farmers’ unions would stage a ‘Rail Roko’ protest across the country. The ‘rail roko’ protest, scheduled between 12 noon and 4 pm, coincided with the ongoing ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by protesters.
Sarwan Singh Pandher, the general secretary of the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, outlined the details of the agitation, stating, “As part of the agitation that started on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 13, we have called for a ‘Rail Roko’ across the country today.”
He urged protester, laborers, and the general public nationwide to support the ‘Rail Roko’ in large numbers. Pandher also requested individuals with scheduled train journeys between 12 noon and 4 pm to consider postponing their travel by a few hours on the designated day. While acknowledging potential inconvenience for train passengers, Pandher emphasized that the ‘Rail Roko’ was a partial disruption.
As part of the protest, hundreds of protester intended to sit on railway tracks at various locations to make their voices heard.
The protesting protester have been stationed at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march encountered resistance from security personnel on February 13.
The protester have presented a series of demands to the central government, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) on their produce, the withdrawal of police cases related to previous protests, pensions for farmers and agricultural laborers, debt waivers, and a commitment to not increase electricity tariffs.
In the most recent round of talks with the farmers’ delegation, which concluded past midnight on February 18, the panel of three Union ministers proposed the purchase of five crops—moong dal, urad dal, tur dal, maize, and cotton—from farmers at MSP for five years through central agencies. However, the farmers rejected the offer and returned to their protest sites.
The ‘Rail Roko’ protest aimed to intensify the pressure on the government to address the protester’ concerns and expedite negotiations to find a resolution to the ongoing standoff between the protester and the authorities. The protester’ agitation has become a significant issue, attracting attention and support from various quarters, including political leaders, activists, and citizens concerned about the welfare of the agricultural community in India.
