Farmers throughout Punjab are staging extensive road and rail blockades on Monday as part of a state-wide shutdown, disrupting both commuter and freight transportation.
The shutdown, to be observed from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., was called by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha to press the Union government to meet their demands, including a legal guarantee for a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Besides the MSP guarantee, farmers are demanding a debt waiver, pension, no hike in electricity tariffs, withdrawal of police cases, and justice for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
“Farmer union leaders will enforce a chakka jam on roads and rail lines from 7 am to 4 pm. Government and private institutions are requested to stay closed. Only emergency vehicles, such as ambulances, marriage vehicles, or anyone in a dire emergency, will be allowed to pass,” a senior farm leader said earlier.
Over 200 locations across the state witnessed roadblocks, causing significant disruptions, according to the organisers.
The demonstrators have blocked key routes, including Airport Road at IISER Chowk in Mohali, Kurali Road Toll Plaza, Ambala-Delhi Highway Toll Plaza near Lalru, and the Kharar-Morinda Highway.
Railway services were hit as the farmers’ ‘Rail Roko Andolan’ led to the cancellation of 163 trains, with 19 others short-terminated, 15 short-originated, 15 delayed, and nine halted en route.
Over 600 police personnel were deployed across Punjab’s Mohali district, with senior police officers monitoring the situation closely.
Meanwhile, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s hunger strike entered its 35th day. Dallewal, 70, has refused medical treatment and vowed to continue his fast until the government agrees to the farmers’ demands.
