Farmers' stir extended till Monday, Badal appeals for end

Farmers in Punjab today extended their four-day old 'rail-roko' agitation for two more days, rejecting the appeal by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for ending the stir which has paralysed train services and even led to suspension of Indo-Pak Samjhauta Express.
Badal, who has called a meeting with representatives of farmers and farm labour unions on October 12, said his government is ready to accept every genuine demand of the farmers and would leave no stone unturned to bail the distressed agriculturists out of the severe crisis.
Union leaders said the agitation, which began on October 7, will continue till Monday next.

"Our core committee of eight farmers' outfits has decided to extend Rail Roko agitation till October 12," BKU (Ugrahan) General Secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri said.
The agitation has affected 53 trains, 25 of which were cancelled, in the last four days, railway authorities said. Nine trains were diverted, while 19 others were short terminated or short originated.
The Indo-Pak Samjhauta Express was cancelled for the second time today. The '14001 Delhi-Attari Express' scheduled to leave Old Delhi station tomorrow and '14002 Attari-Delhi Express' scheduled to leave Attari on October 12 will remain cancelled, said a Northern Railway statement.

"Our members have thought that if we call off our protest today then our demands may not be taken seriously by the state authorities. That is why we decided to extend our agitation to press the state government to accept our demands," Kokri said.

He said the government had delayed in inviting farmers to hold talks with the Chief Minister.
As many as eight farmers' organisations including BKU Ekta (Dakunda), BKU Ekta (Ugrahan), BKU (Krantikari), Kirti Kisan Union are participating in Rail Roko agitation.
Badal, in a statement issued here, said the ruling SAD has always been a votary of the farmers and their rights and that the government has always taken appropriate steps to safeguard the interests of the farmers.
Blaming the previous Congress governments at the Centre for the farmers' distress, he said his government has taken a slew of historic initiatives to bail out the farmers.

He said the state government is ready to accept every genuine demand of the farmers as he appealed to the farmers to lift the rail blockade which was causing huge harassment to general public, besides causing a whopping economic loss to the nation.