Ex-servicemen squat on rail tracks for 12 hours in Punjab's Patiala; train movement hit

 The movement of trains going towards Delhi, Jammu and Amritsar has been affected due to the protest, say officials.

A group of ex-servicemen squatted on railway tracks at Shambhu railway station when they were stopped from heading to Delhi for a protest over alleged anomalies in the ‘One Rank One Pension’ scheme, in Patiala, November 25, 2023

PTI

Patiala, November 25

A group of ex-servicemen squatted on railway tracks at the Shambhu railway station in this Punjab district for nearly 12 hours on Saturday when they were stopped from heading to Delhi for a protest over alleged anomalies in the “One Rank One Pension” (OROP) scheme, officials said.

The protest affected the train movement on the section, the Government Railway Police (GRP) officials said.

After being assured by officials from the district administration that the governor would meet them, the protesters lifted the dharna at about 4:30 pm, they added.

Some of the protesters had said earlier in the day that they were headed to Delhi on various modes of transport when they were stopped by police from entering Haryana via the Shambhu border.

A GRP official said the movement of trains going towards Delhi, Jammu and Amritsar was affected due to the protest.

“The dharna has been lifted and normal movement of trains restored,” he said.

Sources said around 250 ex-servicemen sat on the dharna at the railway station in the morning, but their number increased later on.