States » NorthPosted at: Sep 17 2026 6:16PM


Farmers’ rail protest disrupts trains in Punjab, passengers face hours-long delays

Neeraj Bali
Chandigarh, Sep 17 (UNI) A farmers’ protest on railway tracks near Amritsar disrupted train services on Thursday, leaving passengers stranded for hours as some trains were cancelled and others ran several hours behind schedule.
Farmers occupied the railway track at Devi Daspura near Jandiala Guru as part of protests over demands including a legal guarantee for minimum support prices, debt relief and other issues.
The disruption was felt at Amritsar railway station, where passengers waited for trains that they said were running five to six hours late, with some facing even longer delays.
Gosewak, a passenger from Uttarakhand who had visited the Golden Temple and was preparing to return home, said he learnt at the station that his train had been delayed because of the farmers’ protest.
“I am a farmer myself, and I stand with the farmers, but the government should accept their demands and also think about the difficulties being faced by ordinary passengers,” he said.
Several passengers said uncertainty over train timings had added to their difficulties as they waited at the station with families and luggage.
Ram Achal Pathak, who was travelling to Deoria in Uttar Pradesh, said the disruption had made the journey difficult.
“The farmers’ demands should be addressed, but ordinary people should also be taken care of,” Pathak said.
Dev Lal said he was travelling with a group of 35 family members to Deoria and had been told that their train, originally expected at around 2:30 p.m., might not arrive until midnight.
“We are 35 people travelling together. The train was supposed to come at 2:30, but now we are being told it may come at 12 at night,” he said.
Kapil Madesia, another passenger from Deoria district, said his train had already been delayed by about five hours and passengers had been told the farmers’ agitation was behind the disruption.
“The government should seriously consider the farmers’ demands,” Madesia said, adding that he too came from a farming family.
The Devi Daspura blockade was part of a wider protest by farmer groups at several locations in Punjab on Thursday.
The protesters have been seeking, among other things, a legal guarantee for MSP on specified crops, debt relief, withdrawal of police cases registered during previous agitations, and compensation linked to earlier protests.
The passengers interviewed at Amritsar station largely expressed sympathy with the farmers’ demands but said the government and protest organisers should find a way to resolve the dispute without prolonged disruption to ordinary travellers.
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