The Railways has deployed 20 additional companies of the Railway Protection Special Force across the country ahead of the farmers’ “rail roko”, or railway blockade, agitation to be held on Thursday, PTI reported. The troops will focus on Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The Kisan Ekta Morcha, a joint front representing the farmers protesting against the three new agricultural laws, had on February 10 announced the agitation. The agitation will be held between 12 pm and 4 pm. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions, on Wednesday appealed for a peaceful protest. Railway unions, which had earlier supported the protests, have distanced themselves from the blockade.
Railway Protection Force Director General Arun Kumar appealed to everyone to maintain peace. “We will be liaisoning with district administrations and have a control room in place,” he said. “We will gather intelligence. States such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, and some other areas will be our focus.”
Kumar said that they want to persuade the protestors not to cause inconvenience to the passengers. “We have a four-hour window and we want it [the railway blockade] to get over peacefully,” he said.
Unidentified officials in the northern railways said they were expecting the agitations to be concentrated in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. “No decision has yet been taken on train movement in the backdrop of the rail blockade,” the official said. “Once we get a better picture of the status of the protests and have identified sensitive spots, we will put in place a plan of action.”
The official added that there are 80 trains that run through “potentially sensitive areas” and most of them would have passed through them before 12 pm. In view of the blockade, several trains have been diverted or cancelled in Punjab, reported the Hindustan Times. The ruling Congress in the state has backed the agitation.
In Karnataka, the Union of Farmer Associations has also decided to back the agitation and hold railway blockades across the state, reported News18. Members of the union from Bengaluru, Belgavi, Mysuru and Hubbuli will stage protests at key railway junctions.
The South Western Railway authorities have beefed up security across key stations to ensure there is no disruption in the train schedule. “We have called in additional personnel and adequate security measures have been put in place to ensure that no untoward incident occurs,” said South Western Railway Public Relations Officer E Vijaya. “In case there are any delays we will intimate the passengers in advance.”
Earlier this month, the protesting farmers had observed a three-hour road blockade to push their demand of repealing the three farm laws.
The farm law protests
Tens of thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at Delhi’s border points for more than 80 days, seeking the withdrawal of agricultural laws passed in September. The protests had largely been peaceful but violence erupted on January 26, when a tractor rally planned to coincide with Republic Day celebrations turned chaotic. More than 100 protestors have been arrested in connection with the violence and several are missing.
The farmers believe that the new laws undermine their livelihood and open the path for the corporate sector to dominate agricultural. The government, on the other hand, maintains that the new laws will give farmers more options in selling their produce, lead to better pricing, and free them from unfair monopolies. The laws are meant to overhaul antiquated procurement procedures and open up the market, the government has claimed.
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