Chandigarh: A large number of passengers were inconvenienced due to the disruption in the train services as the protesting farmers staged the ``rail-roko’’ protest across Punjab for three hours till 3 pm on Wednesday to press for their various demands including minimum support price (MSP) for their crops and debt waiver.

The farmer leaders who briefed newspersons here after their protest staged at over 70 locations in all the 23 districts of Punjab also gave a call for `Punjab Bandh’ on December 30 as a part of their ongoing stir to press the Centre for their various demands including MSP and debt waiver to which it has turned a deaf ear so far.

Stating that their rail-roko protest got a massive response from a score of people including farmers, labourers and youths, farm leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that the protest was staged to convey farmers’ plight to the Centre.

Meanwhile, according to information, while 21 trains running through different parts of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir were cancelled, 39 others were rescheduled affecting train services in Ambala and Ferozepur railways divisions.

It may be recalled that a multitude of the farmers have been protesting to press the Centre for their various demands including MSP and debt waiver and camping at the heavily barricaded Shambhu and Khanauri borders of Punjab and Haryana for the past about 10 months.

Under their protest ``Delhi chalo’’ march 2.0 – the first being in the 2020-2021 – for the past about 10 months, their attempts to move towards Delhi were thwarted on December 6, 8, and 14 by Haryana police by lobbing teargas shells, leading to injuries to many of them.

FARMER WHO ATTEMPTED SUICIDE, DIES

Meanwhile, the farmer leaders said that the farmer, Ranjit Singh, who had consumed pesticide during the protest at Shambhu border last week and was hospitalised, died on Wednesday at a hospital. The leaders demanded Rs 25 lakh financial aid for the deceased farmer’s family, complete debt waiver and a government job for one family member.

CALL FOR `PUNJAB BANDH’ ON DEC 30

Pandher also told newspersons that the farm unions which have been protesting since February this year under the joint aegis of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) have given a ``Punjab bandh’’ call for December 30.

Stating that they were confident that ``bandh’’ call would get a huge response from all the people who understand the plight of the farmers, Pandher said that they would soon be announcing their other decisions to step up their agitation.