Farmers Halt Freight Train in Balurghat, Escalating Protest Over Jobs-for-Land Promise

January 13,2026

• Echoes of the Soil: The Unpaid Debt

Kamal Kumar Biswas.TOD.Balurghat

Local farmers in Balurghat have brought rail movement and grain operations to a standstill after stopping an entire freight train in protest over what they say are unfulfilled promises of jobs in exchange for their land.

The agitation began on Saturday afternoon and has continued for the past two days, forcing the complete shutdown of work at the Balurghat silo godown. Farmers laid out beds and pillows beneath wagons carrying wheat and erected plastic sheets for shelter, transforming the railway track into a site of round-the-clock protest.

According to the protesters, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) had acquired nearly 19 acres of land from 29 landowners for the construction of the silo godown, assuring employment as compensation. The land donors were promised daily wages of ₹476, but the farmers allege that the commitment was never honored.

“We worked for three months and 22 days without receiving a single payment,” said one of the protesting farmers. “We had protested earlier as well, but nothing changed.”

Frustrated by the lack of response from the authorities, the landowners have now intensified their movement by physically occupying the freight train. They say the protest will continue indefinitely until their demands are met.

Railway operations in the area remain disrupted, while officials are reportedly attempting to negotiate with the protesters. For now, the farmers remain resolute, lying beneath the train they have stopped, insisting that their struggle will continue for as long as justice remains delayed.