India, Sept. 17 -- The movement of 20 trains, including the New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express, was affected after farmers squatted on railway tracks at five places in Punjab on Thursday to pressure the state government to hold talks and resolve their demands, including a loan waiver.

The farmers, who staged the protest under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), called off its nearly-six-hour rail blockade after they received an assurance from officials that a meeting between their leaders and Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian will be held to discuss their demands on September 24.

The farmers sat on the railway tracks from 12 noon till 6 pm at Devidaspura in Amritsar, at the Jhakholhari railway crossing in Pathankot,...