Punjab witnessed 2 hours of Rail Roko on Friday. Farmers outfit Kisan Mazdoor Morcha had called two hours of rail blockade on December 5. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Thursday released his video and had urged people to come in 'lakhs' and support Kisan Mazdoor Morcha's 'Rail Roko' in Punjab.
Hence, farmers tried to go to various railway stations of Punjab to block the rail tracks as part of their protest. Multiple farmers on Friday afternoon headed to Jalandhar Cantt Railway Station to block railway tracks for two hours. However, they were stopped outside the station by police officials present at the spot.
Police officials had barricaded Jalandhar Cantt Railway Station to stop protesting farmers outside.
Farmer leader Manjit Rai came with other farmers to block railway tracks. However, he was stopped outside the station.
When the farmers were stopped, a conversation between Manjit Rai and DCP Naresh Dogra was caught on camera.
Stopping the farmers DCP Dogra said, "We are being loyal to our duty."
Farmer said, "You stay loyal but be loyal to Punjab. Do not be loyal to government only. Today is our protest, so let us go to the tracks."
DCP tries to make them understand and said, "No you are not allowed to go there. Your vehicle is here, you can rest in your vehicle."
"No, let us go to the track. You can pick us up from there. We have not come here to rest in our vehicle."
The DCP added that stopping trains could cause inconvenience to the general public. Therefore, he will not allow anyone to take the law into their own hands.
The farmers in the end were detained by the police officials present there.
DCP Dogra while talking to media said, "We cannot let them go to the tracks. It's a request to them. They can sit here (outside the station). If they will try to go to the tracks forcefully, then we will have to arrest them."
Manjit Rai while talking to the media said, "We are frightened from arrests. Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025 will loot the pocket of everyone. Electricity will go to private companies. We all know that private companies will not give free electricity. Government can give electricity. But after these private companies will come, free electricity will stop."
Sarwan Singh Pandher, convener of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), said, "We have three main demands. These include repealing the Electricity Amendment Bill 2025, removing prepaid electricity meters being installed in Punjab, and preventing the government from selling government land."
Centre in its official release published on PIB stated that the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, is a major step toward transforming India’s power system to meet the needs of a rapidly growing economy. It aims to create a future-ready electricity sector that delivers reliable, affordable, and high-quality power to every consumer: farmers and households, to shops and industries.
The Bill moves away from the old monopoly supply model and encourages a performance-driven approach, where both public and private utilities compete fairly to improve consumer service. It promotes better use of the existing electricity network with transparency and accountability so that citizens get more value for every rupee spent.
Centre has also issued FAQs related to the Amendment.
Centre says competition reduces the overall cost of electricity supply by improving efficiency and accountability in supply.
Shared network usage will eliminate duplication of distribution lines and sub-stations. Under monopoly electricity supply model, technical and commercial losses are high and often merged under one head, masking inefficiencies and theft. When State Governments provide subsidised electricity to segments like farmers or domestic consumers, the subsidy burden includes not only the intended social support but also the cost of monopoly operations.
By enabling shared network usage and facilitating competition, the reforms will reduce losses and lower the effective subsidy burden on State Governments, without altering the subsidised tariffs paid by consumers.
