Farmers sit on railway tracks during a statewide ‘rail roko’ protest called by the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, Punjab Chapter, against the central government’s draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and other issues, at Devi Das Pura near Amritsar, on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Farmers and farm labourers under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) blocked railway tracks at a few locations in Punjab for a couple of hours on Friday (December 5, 2025) as part of their ‘symbolic rail roko’ agitation.
The protest was held to press for the withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2025, with the Centre accused of showing indifference to their concerns.
“We want the Centre to withdraw the amendments to the Electricity Act, which will only harm the agriculture sector and bring further financial distress to farmers. Besides, the State government is making attempts to sell government lands through different ways, which we will never accept and would never let it happen. The state government should not make any move that is against the interest of Punjab and Punjabis,” said Senior farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher.
Mr. Pandher alleged that several farmer leaders were detained by the police ahead of the protest. “Despite the State government’s attempts to disrupt our agitation, farmers and farm labourers came out in large numbers and sat on railway tracks between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to press for their demands,” he added.
Warning of an escalation, he said that if their demands remained ignored, the agitation would intensify. “On December 10, we will remove pre-paid smart meters as a mark of protest,” he added.
Published – December 05, 2025 09:21 pm IST
