Amritsar: Farmers staged a ‘rail blockade’ protest against the amendment to the electricity bill.
Amritsar: Responding to a call by the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) against the proposed Electricity Amendment Bill, farmers today staged a ‘rail roko’ (rail blockade) protest at Dayalpur village near Jandiala. The KMM had announced a two-hour protest from 1 pm to 3 pm at the Devidaspura railway crossing, but due to heavy deployment of Punjab Police, farmers were unable to reach the railway tracks for almost an hour. As the farmers tried to move towards the tracks, police personnel stopped them. Some groups tried to reach the spot from the nearby fields, but they were also stopped at a distance. Despite this, a group of farmers, led by KMM leader Sarwan Singh Pandher, managed to reach the tracks near the Meharbanpura crossing towards Nijarpura and sat on the railway tracks to protest. Addressing the gathering, Pandher accused the Punjab government of trying to suppress the Morcha’s call under the agenda of the central government. He said that even though the police tried their best to foil the agitation, the farmers succeeded in sitting on the railway tracks.
There was no major train movement on the tracks during the protest. Pandher said that today’s protest clearly showed the public’s anger against the Electricity Amendment Bill. He demanded that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann immediately pass a resolution opposing the bill in the Assembly and send it to the central government. He also urged the central government to stop suppressing the rights of the states. Calling the bill anti-people and anti-farmer, Pandher appealed to the public to be prepared for a bigger and more intense agitation in the coming days. Earlier on Thursday night, several farmer leaders alleged that the police raided the houses of union leaders late at night in several districts, including Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Ropar, and Patiala. Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that several farmer leaders were targeted for the ‘rail roko’ protest.
He claimed that the state government was resorting to pressure tactics instead of addressing the concerns raised on the draft Electricity Amendment Bill-2025. Gurbakshpuri reported from Tarn Taran: Farmers and laborers staged a sit-in protest on the railway tracks at two locations from 1 PM to 3 PM on Friday, disrupting train services. Acting on instructions from the state government, the police raided the homes of farmer leaders Satnam Singh Manochahal, Savinder Singh Chutala, Harjinder Singh Shakri, Fateh Singh Piddi, and others early Friday morning to prevent their participation in the protest, but the leaders evaded the police. The rail blockade in the district was led by Satnam Singh Manochahal, the district president of the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee. Farmers and laborers staged a sit-in on the railway tracks near Gohalwar, halting trains on the Amritsar-Khemkaran route, and also near Malmohri village, disrupting train services on the Tarn Taran-Beas route. Speakers demanded the repeal of the central government’s Electricity Act-2025 and compensation for the damage caused to tractors, trolleys, and machinery by the Punjab government at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders during the farmers’ protest.
