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, Kanchan Vasdev
| Chandigarh, New Delhi |
November 8, 2020 5:28:06 am
The Centre and Punjab had been on a collision course Saturday after the Indian Railways hardened its stand and refused to run solely goods trains within the state, citing operational and questions of safety in view of farmer protests.
Punjab minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, head of the cupboard committee constituted by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to carry talks with the agitating farmers, focused the Prime Minister and mentioned, “The Centre wants to create law and order problems in Punjab, and wants all Punjabis to leave the state and go to Pakistan.”
Randhawa represents the border constituency of Dera Baba Nanak. His remarks got here hours after Railway Board chairman V Ok Yadav mentioned protesters on the bottom, whereas not blocking the tracks, had been asking Railways to run solely goods trains, one thing that the transporter was not prepared to do.
Congress MPs from Punjab met Union Home Minister Amit Shah Saturday and sought, amongst different issues, restoration of rail visitors within the state. The MPs described the assembly as “cordial”.
Jasbir Singh Gill ‘Dimpa’, one of many MPs, instructed The Indian Express that the Union Home Minister had assured the delegation that the issues of the state would quickly be addressed. He mentioned Railways Minister Piyush Goyal was additionally current on the assembly.
“Shah heard us out and we are hopeful that the state’s issues will be addressed soon. He assured us that train traffic will be restored soon,” he mentioned.
Board chairman Yadav mentioned the protesters had been sitting outdoors 22 railways stations. “At one station, they are within the station premises. They are telling our station masters that we should only run goods trains, and if we run passenger trains, then they will once again block the tracks.”
“In such a scenario, our operating staff have conveyed that they do not have the confidence of safety to run trains,” he mentioned.
“We got a misguiding message from the state government on Friday that tracks were all clear for operation of goods trains. This message was similar to what protesters on the grounds have been saying,” he mentioned.
“It does not work like that. We are not getting any assurance from the state government that there will be safety and security if we resume operations,” he mentioned.
The Railways, the board chairman mentioned, had tried working solely goods trains on October 22 however protesters saved blocking operations. “We immediately started goods trains then. But some major mishaps were averted, so we do not want to do that experiment again. Imagine what will happen if even one protester gets run over by a train. We cannot go on clarifying to protesters along the way what kind of trains we are running,” he mentioned.
Yadav mentioned neither state governments anyplace nor protesters can inform Railways which type of trains to run the place. “If we start running trains according to where state governments want us, then people from every corner of the country will start telling us how to run which trains and where. The Indian Railways system will get destroyed. Not just in Punjab, it is not possible to do it anywhere in the country.”
He mentioned such a request was not operationally possible. “We tried to run only goods trains between October 22 and 24, but it was not possible from the safety and security point of view.”
“This is not ego or politics. We merely want our tracks cleared, so we can run trains freely,” he mentioned.
He mentioned goods trains carrying provides to the armed forces in Kashmir had been unable to maneuver due to the blockade. “Good trains carrying coal, fertiliser, petroleum products are waiting outside Punjab. Food grains in Punjab are awaiting clearance,” he mentioned.
Piyush Goyal, in Twitter posts, mentioned: “Urge Punjab Govt to ensure full safety and security of entire Railways system and allow running of all trains through and to Punjab so that goods and passenger trains can serve the people of Punjab.”
“Operationally important that all tracks, stations & Railway property are clear for safety of passengers, Railway staff & infrastructure. People of Punjab want to travel for festivals like Chhath Puja, Diwali & Gurupurab,” he mentioned.
Punjab minister Randhawa mentioned he does not know what the Centre is as much as. “But they are playing a dangerous game. He (the Prime Minister) belongs to Gujarat, the land of Mahatma Gandhi who taught us non-violence.”
“Until now, only the farmers were on the streets. Now, everybody will come out on the streets as the state is moving towards a blackout, industry is shutting down, workers are losing jobs, farmers do not have fertilisers for the wheat crop. It is a sad state of affairs. We are moving towards very difficult times,” he mentioned.
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