Farmers' unions to stage nationwide 'Rail Roko' protest today

NEW DELHI: Seeking to intensify their ongoing protest over a raft of demands, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Sunday said the farmers' unions will stage 'Rail Roko' protest across the country on Sunday. The call for a 'rail roko' protest, which will be held between 12 noon and 4 pm, comes amid the farmer's 'Delhi Chalo' march.

Sharing the details of the agitation, Pandher, general secretary of the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, said, "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." "We urge all farmers, labourers and common people across the country to support us in the 'Rail Roko' today in large numbers. We also urge those, who are scheduled to travel on trains between 12 noon and 4 pm today, to push back their journey by a few hours today. Train passengers might face some inconvenience today. However, this is only a partial 'Rail Roko'," Pandher told ANI on Sunday.

He added that as part of the protest, hundreds of farmers will sit on railway tracks at several places. The protesting farmers have been staying put at the Shambhu and the Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana after their 'Delhi Chalo' march was stopped by security personnel on February 13.

The protesting farmers have put forward a raft of demands before the Centre, including a legal guarantee to MSP on their produce, withdrawal of police cases against them during earlier protests, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, debt waivers and no hike in electricity tariff. During the last round of talks with the farmers' delegation, which ended past midnight on February 18, the panel of three Union ministers made an offer to buy five crops--moong dal, urad dal, tur dal, maize, and cotton--from farmers at MSP for five years through central agencies.

However, the protesting farmers turned down the offer and returned to their protest sites.