Ambala, April 19

Rail traffic on the Ambala-Amritsar route was hit as farmers squatted on rail tracks in Shambhu near the Punjab-Haryana border for the third day on Friday, demanding the release of three farmers arrested by the Haryana Police, officials said.

About 40 trains have been cancelled, while the routes of 54 trains have been diverted, they said.

The farmers have been protesting under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) in Patiala district’s Shambhu.

They squatted on the tracks on the Ambala-Ludhiana-Amritsar route on Wednesday, demanding the release of three fellow farmers who were arrested by the Haryana Police during the ongoing stir.

With their protest continuing fir the third day, the railway authorities on Friday said has been hit on the Ambala-Amritsar route, on which some goods trains also run, according to the officials.

The disruption in rail movement was causing inconvenience to passengers, they said.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said the protest will continue until the three farmers are released.

The SKM (Non-Political) and the KMM are spearheading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by farmers to press the government to accept their demands, including legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.

The farmers have been staying put at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 when their march was stopped by the security forces.