Train movement across Punjab are likely to face disruptions on Wednesday as farmers are squatting on railway tracks from 12 pm to 3 pm as part of a three-hour ‘rail roko’ protest. Organised by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, the demonstrations span 23 districts.

The farmers are demanding a legal guarantee on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, along with debt waivers, pensions for farmers and labourers, and justice for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher confirmed that the protest is part of their ongoing agitation that began on February 13 when security forces stopped farmers’ marches to Delhi at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana.

Protesters have since been camping at these locations. Attempts by a group of 101 farmers to march to Delhi on foot were thwarted multiple times by Haryana police on December 6, 8, and 14.

Meanwhile, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal stated that the farmers would not meet with the Supreme Court-appointed committee scheduled to convene in Panchkula today.

In a letter to former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Nawab Singh, who heads the committee, Dallewal cited the poor health of injured farmers at the Shambhu border and his own medical condition as reasons for skipping the meeting.

The Supreme Court had constituted the committee on September 2 to address the grievances of farmers protesting at the Shambhu border.

During a December 13 hearing, the top court emphasised that the panel’s recommendations would be shared with all stakeholders before any decisions were made. However, farmers’ unions have resolved not to engage with the committee for now.