Rail traffic restored in Jammu after farmers end protest in Punjab

The resumption of rail traffic provided much needed relief to hundreds of passengers including Vaishno Devi pilgrims who were left stranded at Jammu and Katra railway stations owing to the farmers' strike.

Jammu: The train traffic was restored at the Jammu Railway Station Saturday evening after agitating farmers in Punjab called off their three-day long strike, a senior railway official said.

The resumption of rail traffic provided much needed relief to hundreds of passengers including Vaishno Devi pilgrims who were left stranded at Jammu and Katra railway stations owing to the farmers’ strike.

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“Five trains were cancelled earlier in the day but the service resumed after the farmers in Punjab moved away from the tracks at 4 pm,” senior railway official Prateek Shrivastav told PTI.

He said a total of 50 trains got cancelled, while 85 others were diverted over the past three days in view of the protest by the farmers.

“We are resuming normal operations from tomorrow (Sunday). In case of need, additional trains will be made available to clear the stranded passengers,” Shrivastav said.

Members of several farmers’ bodies in Punjab launched “Rail Roko” agitation on Thursday to press their demands such as a financial package for losses caused by recent floods, legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) and debt waiver.

As part of the protest, farmers squatted on train tracks in many places, including Moga, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, Patiala, Ferozepur, Bathinda and Amritsar.

Shrivastav said the agitation had directly affected Ambala and Firozpur railway divisions.