Why are farmers staging rail roko protests in Punjab? What are their demands?

Farmers are holding three-day rail roko protests in Punjab, starting today (28 September) over certain demands. The rail blockade was earlier announced by Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher after a meeting of representatives of 19 farmer unions. On Day 1 of the protest, members of farmer unions squatted on train tracks at 12 locations across Punjab including Moga, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, Patiala, Ferozepur, Bathinda, and Amritsar. Why are farmers protesting and what are their demands? Let’s understand. Rail Roko in Punjab The 19 farmer unions from six North Indian states have organised rail roko in Punjab to press the Central government to meet their demands. Six farmers’ unions from Punjab have the backing of farmer bodies from Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, reported Indian Express. The main unions participating in the protest include 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), as per news agency PTI. [caption id=“attachment_13182142” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee activists at a rail roko protest in Punjab’s Amritsar. PTI[/caption] According to The Quint report, a meeting was held between several farmers’ organisations and senior police officers from Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana on 4 September. However, no definite conclusion could be reached leading to the ongoing protests. What are they demanding? The protesting unions have a number of demands, including a Rs 50,000 crore flood relief package for flood-affected people in north India, a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) on all crops, and a debt waiver for farmers. Their other demands are 300 days of employment under MGNREGA and control of drug addiction, particularly in Punjab, reported Indian Express. Farmer leader Gurbachan Singh said in Amritsar that they also want government jobs for the family of each farmer who died during the yearlong agitation against the now-repealed three farm laws of the Centre, as per PTI.

#WATCH | Punjab farmers to begin 'rail-roko' protest at noon at Devi Dass Pura in Amritsar

Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Punjab says," Rail roko will begin across Punjab for three days today. There are many issues including the MSP… pic.twitter.com/fqj2izYA2T

— ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2023

Speaking to Indian Express, Suresh Koth, president of Kisan Mazdoor Union of Haryana, said, “We were to start the protest on 22 August in Chandigarh but much before that the Punjab Police arrested over 400 farm union leaders from Punjab and Haryana to prevent us from reaching Chandigarh. Not only this, one farmer Pritam Singh had also been crushed under the tyres of a tractor in the Longowal area of Sangrur district of Punjab when farmers were on their way to a toll plaza to protest”. Singh had died in the clash between farmers and the police at Longowal on 21 August. “We are warning the Punjab government not to mess with us again, they need to remember that Punjab farmers are not alone but their Haryana brothers are with them”, Koth was quoted as saying by the newspaper. ALSO READ: Why 55,000 farmers are protesting at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan What’s affected? According to KMSC president Satnam Singh Pannu, the farmer unions are blocking trains at Batala railway stations in Gurdaspur, Jalandhar Cantonment in Jalandhar, Tarn Taran railway station in Tarn Taran, Sunam in Sangrur, Nabha in Patiala, Basti Tankwali and Mallanwala in Firozpur, Rampura in Bathinda, Devidaspura in Amritsar, Moga, Hoshiarpur, reported Indian Express. The agitation will continue till continue till 30 September. KMSC president Pannu told Indian Express, “The Bhagwant Mann government should avoid anti-people activities. Apart from the demands mentioned above, our other issues are the quashing of police cases lodged during the agitation against farm laws at Delhi borders and punishment for the Lakhimpur incident. We are also demanding that six times the price of the land should be given for the land to be acquired for roads under the Bharatmala project across the country”. Eight people, including four farmers, had died in violence that erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri in 2021. Another recent rail roko Last week, around 100 farmers staged a rail roko protest in western Maharashtra’s Sangli district over the acquisition of land by the Railways. The Kolhapur-Gondia Maharashtra Express was stopped for over four hours in Bhilwadi-Nandre section in Palus tehsil due to the protest. The farmers wanted the Railways to acquire their additional land. They also demanded that Railways build a road and drainage for them, reported PTI.  With inputs from agencies