Punjab: Protesting farmers block several roads, over 170 trains cancelled
The protestors sought a legal guarantee for minimum support prices as well as the implementation of recommendations by the MS Swaminathan Commission.
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Road and rail transport was hit and several commercial establishments remained closed in parts of Punjab on Monday as farmers’ organisations called for a state-wide bandh to press the Centre for a legal guarantee for minimum support prices, The Hindu reported.
A minimum support price is the cost at which the government procures agricultural commodities from farmers.
The strike on Monday was called by farmer groups Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha.
Among the areas where protestors blocked roads were the Dhareri Jattan Toll Plaza on the Patiala-Chandigarh National Highway, Amritsar’s Golden Gate and Bhatinda’s Rampura Phul.
The farm leaders also announced that they would block railway tracks in 50 locations. This affected 232 trains, out of which 174 – including the Shatabdi and Vande Bharat trains – had to be cancelled, The Indian Express reported.
#Shambhu Border: Visuals of Shambhu railway track blocked by the farmers amid a call of #Punjab Bandh by the farmers. pic.twitter.com/750uc0PmQc— Akashdeep Thind (@thind_akashdeep) December 30, 2024
Besides a legal guarantee for minimum support prices, the farmers have also been demanding the implementation of the MS Swaminathan Commission’s wider recommendations for farming in India, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, a farm debt waiver, the reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and justice for victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
The protestors have alleged that the Centre has not...
