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New Delhi:
Train companies to Punjab will solely be restored after the state authorities assures security and safety of railway property and personnel and clears the tracks of all agitators, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal mentioned on Thursday.
He earlier met leaders of each the BJP and Congress in separate delegations, the place they sought Mr Goyal’s intervention in resuming prepare companies within the state saying the suspension was having an antagonistic impact on Punjab’s economic system.
“The Railways is ready to begin operations in Punjab provided the state government gives us an assurance of safety of trains and clears tracks of protestors,” Mr Goyal mentioned in a tweet.
Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, in a letter handed over to Mr Goyal personally by MPs, assured security and safety of railway property and personnel.
“The state government stands fully committed towards ensuring the safety and security of railway properties in Punjab. It is pertinent to mention that there has been no incident of arson or damage to rail property during the current farmers” agitation,” Amarinder Singh mentioned in his letter.
“We will deploy adequate police and security personnel along with RPF during day and night to ensure full protection to railway personnel and property,” the CM mentioned, urging the Railway minister to revive rail site visitors in Punjab.
Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav mentioned Punjab authorities has given an assurance that every one blockades on rail premises by protesters shall be cleared by Friday.
Heated discussions marked a gathering between Congress Lok Sabha MPs from Punjab and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal over the restoration of prepare site visitors within the state, with 4 of them staging a walkout over the minister’s remarks.
Sources mentioned 4 of the eight Congress MPs — Gurpreet Singh Aujla, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Santokh Choudhary and Mohammed Sadique — walked out after tempers flared over Mr Goyal accusing the Congress authorities in Punjab of “provoking and aiding farmers” to protest towards the Central authorities”s farm legal guidelines, that led to disruption of rail site visitors.
The 4 Congress MPs who stayed again on the assembly had been Preneet Kaur, Manish Tewari, Amar Singh and Jasbir Singh Gill.
The BJP delegation that met him included Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, get together nationwide normal secretary Tarun Chug, spokesperson RP Singh and Punjab unit president Ashwani Sharma. In a letter to the railway minister, Mr Sharma alleged that the Congress authorities held Punjab “under siege” and was enjoying politics over the problem.
“We request immediate redressal by your august office to take a undertaking from the state government for security and protection to start goods and passenger trains with immediate effect. The common man is reeling under a great economic stress,” he mentioned.
Mr Sharma additionally mentioned scarcity of fertilisers and pesticides was inflicting an enormous downside for the agriculture sector.
“This letter is to bring to your notice the dire circumstances being forced on Punjabis as the Congress government (in the state) is busy sponsoring the agitation in the name of farmers,” he alleged.
BJP’s state president Sharma additionally requested that the Punjab chief minister be instantly requested to present assurance that the railway blockades shall be cleared and items and passenger trains begin with rapid impact.
Goyal instructed the delegation that the railways was prepared to start out operations within the state supplied an assurance is given by the state authorities concerning the safety of its personnel.
Congress Punjab MPs Pratap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo additionally individually met Goyal and handed him a letter through which they mentioned rail companies should resume on the earliest. Otherwise, the security and safety of Punjab in addition to that of the Armed Forces and civilians residing in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh shall be negatively impacted, they mentioned.
“Due to suspension of operations of the Railways, our farmers and the larger economy of Punjab will be irrevocably damaged,” the Congress MPs mentioned, including that every one three personal thermal energy crops in Punjab have shut down operations as a result of lack of availability of coal.
Train companies have remained suspended for over a month within the state as a result of agitation by farmer teams towards three farm reform legal guidelines handed by Parliament lately. The nationwide transporter has mentioned it has already suffered losses as a result of this to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore.
The three farm legal guidelines — the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 — had been enacted lately.
Farmers’ our bodies protesting the legal guidelines have expressed apprehension that these would pave the way in which for the dismantling of the minimal assist value system, leaving them on the “mercy” of massive company entities. They demand that the legal guidelines be withdrawn.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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