Farmers Unite Across India for Rail Blockade: Demanding MSP Guarantees, Flood Relief, and Debt Waivers
Indian farmers from 19 states have started a three-day rail blockade to address critical issues. This Punjab-based movement is gaining support from farmers’ groups in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
Northern India flood victims want financial aid, a legally binding Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantee for all crops and debt waivers. The ‘rail roko’ protests are scheduled for 12 Punjab locations: Moga, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, Patiala, Ferozepur, Bathinda, and Amritsar.
After a crucial farmer meeting, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher announced this decision. The Bharti Kisan Union (Krantikari), Ekta Azaad, and other prominent farmer organisations support this movement.
A ‘rail roko’ protest by 100 Maharashtra farmers in Sangli district against railway land acquisition occurred earlier this month. This halted the Kolhapur-Gondia Maharashtra Express for over four hours in Palus tehsil’s Bhilwadi-Nandre area. Maharashtra farmers are negotiating with the district administration to quantify railway land acquisition.
