Ferozepur, September 17, 2026 (Vikram Ditya Sharma)
Hundreds of farmers associated with the Kissan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) blocked the railway track at Mallanwala on Thursday, disrupting train services and affecting 20 trains while pressing for a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), complete waiver of farmers’ and workers’ loans and compensation for flood-related losses.
The rail blockade led to the cancellation of four trains, diversion of seven, short termination of three, short origination of four and rescheduling of two trains.
Among the cancelled services were the Beas–Tarn Taran DMU trains (74605 and 74606) and the Ferozepur Cantt–Jalandhar City trains (74936 and 74937).
Seven trains were diverted, including the Amritsar–New Jalpaiguri Amrit Bharat Express (14664), Amritsar–Jaynagar Shaheed Express (14674), Amritsar–Ajmer Express (19612) and New Delhi–Amritsar Shatabadi Express (12031).
The Ludhiana–Chhehrata DMU (64551) was short-terminated at Jandiala, while the New Delhi–Amritsar Shan-e-Punjab Express (12497) was short-terminated at Jalandhar and the Ludhiana–Ferozepur DMU (54051) at Moga.
Four trains were short-originated, while two Ferozepur–Jalandhar DMU services (74936 and 74938) were rescheduled as a result of the protest.
The disruption caused inconvenience to commuters travelling for work, medical treatment, education and other essential purposes. Kamal Mittal, a resident of the cantonment area who was travelling to Jalandhar, said he came to know at the railway station that his train had been cancelled because of the protest and that he would now have to travel by bus.
Addressing the protesters, farmer leaders Sukhwinder Singh Sabhra, Dharam Singh Sidhu and Sarjit Singh Fauji said the KMSC had earlier held protests outside the offices of Deputy Commissioners across Punjab on August 31. They said protests had also been staged outside the residences of Punjab ministers since September 14.
The protesters listed several demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP, permanent ownership rights for cultivators, loan waivers and compensation for flood losses. They also demanded withdrawal of the land pooling policy and an end to what they described as forcible acquisition of agricultural land.
Other demands included withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2025, a halt to smart meter installation, release of pending sugarcane payments, action against drug trafficking and corruption, employment opportunities for youth and withdrawal of the proposed India-US trade agreement.
The protesters said the rail blockade would continue until their demands were met.
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