Trains Stopped As Farmers Squat On Tracks In Haryana, UP: Here's All About Farmers' Protest

Farmers protesting against the Centre's new farm laws gathered near rail tracks in parts of Punjab, Haryana Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka for the ''rail roko'' protest.

The agitation, which started at noon, continued till 4 pm and was peaceful, the farmers have said. Train services had been stopped in several areas across the country as part of precautionary measure. Security had been tightened in Punjab and Haryana, with the deployment of the government railway police and the state police.

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Uttar Pradesh?

Ghaziabad near Delhi -- where protesting farmers have been blocking the highway since November -- has also been put under a security blanket.

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Haryana

In Haryana, the train stations at Sonipat, Ambala and Jind were completely blocked. Protesters, many of them women, squatted on the railway tracks in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Panchkula and Fatehabad (Bhattu Kalan) districts.

Punjab

In Punjab, protesters sat on tracks at many places on the Delhi-Ludhiana-Amritsar railway route, officials said. Farmers blocked the Jalandhar Cantt-Jammu railway track in Jalandhar and in Mohali district.

Karnataka?

There was commotion in Bengaluru as the police refused to allow farmers to protest.?

"We are not being allowed by the police to hold rail roko. The police say no permission has been given for this protest. Why should we wait for the police to give permission when it was nationally announced by farm unions," a farmer leader said.?

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha -- an aggregate of farmer unions -- had announced the nationwide rail blockade last week to press for its demand to repeal the farm laws.?

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J&K

Farmers under the aegis of the United-Kissan Front demonstrated at railway track in Jammu's Channi Himat area with slogans against the newly enacted farm laws.

Where farmers' protest stands?

Over the last weeks, the farmers protesting at the Delhi borders have been heading out to states, saying it was part of their new strategy to take the protest across the country.The plan to spread the protest came as the deadlock over the farm laws persisted despite multiple rounds of talks with the government - neither ready to back down.?

The farmers have refused to accept the government's offer of a 18-month freeze on the three laws while negotiations continue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the proposal stands. The farmers contend that the farm laws will shrink their income by doing away with the minimum prices fixed by the government and leave them at the mercy of corporates.?

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The government says the laws are major reforms in the farm sector that will help farmers dispense with middlemen and allow them to sell produce anywhere in the country.