Farmers start 'rail roko' protest

Several trains were suspended on Thursday as farmers began a three-day 'rail roko' campaign against the Farm Bills passed by both Houses of Parliament. The Ferozepur Railway division decided to suspend operation of special trains till September 26 in view of the safety of passengers, a rail official told IANS. The trains that were suspended include Golden Temple Mail (Amritsar-Mumbai Central), Jan Shatabdi Express (Haridwar-Amritsar), New Delhi-Jammu Tawi, Sachkhand Express (Nanded-Amritsar) and Shaheed Express (Amritsar-Jaynagar). Activists of the Bhaartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) staged a sit-in protest on rail tracks in Barnala and Sangrur towns. In a first-of-its-kind show of solidarity, 31 farmer organisations in Punjab cutting across party lines on Wednesday announced a joint statewide protest to be held on Friday. The organisations have given a call for complete 'Punjab bandh'. They have also chalked out a strategy for post-September 25 protests.