Rail drivers require to rework their travel schedules in the wake of a two-day “rail roko” disturbance, announced by the Bharti Kisan Union-Ekta (Ugrahan) and the Kisan Sangarsh Committee in support of their demands, beginning tomorrow.
Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan, the general secretary of the BKU-Ekta, said, “From Monday, we will hinder all trains on the Barnala and Mansa sections in this part of the state. The Amritsar part will make a final decision on the specific rail track before tomorrow morning.”
He said, “We know the move will cause public inconvenience but there is no other way in which can make this deaf government listen to our absolute demands. We had made the declaration on April 6 but the government did not respond, forcing us to follow the plan.”
The district president of the BKU (Ugrahan), Shingara Singh Mann, said, “Under the new policy of the government, peasants are having irrelevant inconvenience in disposing of their produce which had wilted or was raw. We are demanding a premium of Rs 500 per quintal for a reduced harvest. Peasant Gajendra Singh’s suicide proves that farmers’ demand for compensation due to low produce this year is very real.”
Deputy Commissioner, Barnala, Gurlovleen Singh Sidhi claimed, “We have no intimation of any ‘Rail roko’ revolt on Monday. As far as our district is concerned, the wheat acquisition is going very smoothly.”
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