Jalandhar: Railways department has been forced to cancel/divert over 100 trains in the region here on Saturday after farmers continued with their indefinite protest on tracks at various locations demanding pending dues of nearly Rs 200 crore and a hike in State Agreed Price (SAP) for sugarcane crop from the Punjab government.
A railway spokesperson said that on Thursday night it was informed that there was a call by BKU Doaba Unit to sit on a dharma to demand for a hike in MSP of sugar cane and for clearance of dues. Since this morning they have been sitting on the NH near gate S 70 near Dhanowali between Jalandhar- Chaheru section.
He said that a total of 107 trains got affected as of Saturday morning due to the protest causing a nuisance to commuters.
Railways cancelled 50 trains, diverted 18, short term 36 and some others, said railway spokesperson.
Punjab police have also diverted various routes in Jalandhar, Kartarpur and Phagwara as farmers blocked Amritsar-Jalandhar highway.
Doaba Kisan Sangharsh Committee had announced to start an indefinite protest from Friday across Punjab by blocking national highways and railway tracks two days back.
Following this, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday announced a hike of Rs. 15 per quintal in the State Agreed Price (SAP) of all sugarcane varieties for the crushing season, 2021-22.