Kapurthala, Oct 18 (PTI) Scores of farmers blocked the railway track and stopped the Jammu-bound Somnath Express train for nearly 90 minutes at Sultanpurlodhi Railway Station here on Friday in protest against an allegedly delayed procurement of paddy.
They left the track only after they were assured by the district administration that the paddy lifting would be expedited.
The train resumed its journey after the blockade was lifted, Superintendent of Police Sarabjit Singh Rai, who participated in the negotiations with the agitators, said.
The train reached Kapurthala at 16:46 hrs, much later than its scheduled time of 15:20 hours, Railway Station Master Vipin Kumar said.
The protestors, led by Kissan Labour Sangharsh Committee District president Sarwan Singh, alleged that farmers had to sell their produce at less than the minimum selling price due to the tardy procurement.
They also alleged that the crop was piling up as there was no storage space.
Samyukta Kisan Morcha, another farmers’ collective, is also protesting against the same issue.
Sources said the Punjab government had on Saturday invited the farmers for talks.
On Friday, police briefly detained some farmers marching towards the Chandigarh residence of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
SKM in a statement condemned the detention of protesters, who also included labourers, ‘arthiyas’ (commission agents), and rice millers.
SKM had recently held a three-hour state-wide road blockade in Punjab against the slow paddy procurement.
While ‘arthiyas’ are pressing for a raise in their commission, the rice millers have flagged the issue of shortage of space to store fresh paddy.
They want the Centre to liquidate the existing wheat and paddy stock to create sufficient space.
Rice millers have also expressed concern over the out-turn ratio (post-milling yield) of the PR-126 paddy variety, claiming that it will lead to huge losses. PTI Cor SUN VN VN
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