WEB DESK / New Delhi
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s six-hour ‘rail roko’ protest on Monday over the Lakhimpur violence affected 150 locations in the Northern Railway zone and hindered the running of 60 trains, said its chief public relation officer (CPRO).
In the North Western Railway (NWR) zone, rail traffic was affected in some sections in Rajasthan and Haryana with 18 trains cancelled, 10 partially cancelled and one diverted due to the protest.
The trains that have been affected in the Northern Railway zone include the Chandigarh-Ferozepur Express. Its scheduled departure from Ludhiana was 7 am, but has been stranded there due to a blockade in the Ferozpur-Ludhiana section, the official said.
The New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express was halted near Shambu station as protesters blocked railway tracks near Sahnewal and Rajpura.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha is staging a nationwide ‘Rail Roko’ protest to demand the dismissal and arrest of Union Minister Ajay Mishra over his son Ashish Mishra’s car allegedly running over a group of protesters in Lakhimpur Kheri. Several groups of farmers have already begun blocking train tracks in parts of Punjab while in Uttar Pradesh, police have imposed restrictions under Section 144 in Lucknow.
SKM, which is an umbrella body of the farmer unions that have continued their prolonged agitation against the Centre’s farm laws, said “protests will only be intensified until justice is secured” in the Lakhimpur Kheri case. The Rail Roko protests by farmers will continue till 4 pm today across the country.