The Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s six-hour ‘rail roko’ protest on Monday over the Lakhimpur violence affected 130 locations in the Northern Railway zone and hindered the running of 50 trains, said its chief public relation officer (CPRO).
In the North Western Railway (NWR), rail traffic was affected in some sections in Rajasthan and Haryana with two trains cancelled, 13 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. “So far, 130 locations in the Northern Railway zone have been affected and operations of 50 trains hindered,” the Northern Railway CPRO said.
In a statement, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions spearheading the agitation against the Centre’s three agri laws, had said “protests will be intensified until justice is secured” in the Lakhimpur Kheri case.
During the ‘rail roko’ protest, all train traffic will be stopped from 10 am till 4 pm on Monday, the SKM had said.