Farmers block rail traffic after agitator dies

Activists of various farm and labour unions blocked rail traffic after a protester,who was returning from New Delhi after holding an agitation,was found dead in a train after it reached Amritsar on Tuesday morning.

The protesters placed the body of 45-year-old Jagir Singh — a resident of Dhodhian village in Tarn Taran district — on the railway tracks and demanded Rs 10 lakh as compensation for his family. The blockade was lifted only after the Amritsar administration agreed to provide Jagir Singh’s family a compensation of Rs 5 lakh. Due to the protest,train services from Amritsar were hit for a few hours in the morning.

The activists of farm and labour unions were returning from New Delhi after holding a protest against them receiving non-remunerative prices for their produce and alleged discrimination in schemes like Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,Public Distribution System and Below Poverty Line.