The Ambala railway division has witnessed a decline in freight loading with an overall decrease of 16.7% and nearly a 30% dip in foodgrain loading in goods trains due to disruptions caused by farmers blocking rail tracks, Union minister of state Ravneet Singh Bittu said on Tuesday.
During his visit to the Chandigarh railway station for inspecting the ongoing redevelopment project here, the minister of state for railways and food processing industries shared that in April 2023, a total of 514 rakes were loaded and in April 2024 only 428 rakes were loaded from the Ambala division in goods trains, which was a drop of 86 rakes (16.7% dip).
Talking about foodgrain, he stated that in April 2024, 168 foodgrain rakes were loaded as compared to 240 rakes loaded in April last year, which was a drop of 72 rakes (almost 30% dip).
Each rake carries around 2,500 tonnes of foodgrain and the movement of already stored grains is essential to create space for fresh procurement.
According to Bittu, farmers need to understand that this is affecting them as well. “In Punjab, we have the additional issue of space. Grain warehouses are full to capacity,” he added.
As Punjab is not connected to any seaport, major goods transportation takes place in goods trains. Shambhu is a key rail link leading into Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. The farmers have been staying at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 when their “Delhi Chalo” march was stopped by security forces.
Several times, farmers squatted on railway tracks at many places across Punjab as part of a ‘rail roko’ protest called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha to press the Centre to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP). The rail roko impacted several goods and passenger trains.
Once again, farmer unions called for a two-hour rail roko protest on October 3 to mark 200 days of farmers’ stir and the third anniversary of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident where eight people, including four farmers and a journalist, were killed in 2021 during a protest against the now repealed three farm laws.
On September 2, the apex court constituted a high-powered committee headed by former Punjab and Haryana high court judge justice Nawab Singh to amicably resolve the grievances of protesting farmers. A bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan directed the committee to reach out to the agitating farmers to immediately remove their tractors and trolleys from the Shambhu border to provide relief to commuters.
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