Erratic power supply in paddy season riles farmers

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 23

Although the state government has promised to provide un-interrupted power during the ongoing paddy plantation, farmers are complaining of unscheduled cuts. As assured against the eight hour un-interrupted electricity, farmers are facing frequent power snapping problem during this period too.

Paddy plantation started from June 20 in Punjab. The demand for power increases during this time of the year. The government assured that adequate arrangements had been made and no power cut would be imposed during the eight hours supply.

Villages have been divided into three zones. Eight hours supply has been fixed in each zone during which there will be no power cut. Villagers near Samrala, Kohara and Jagraon have complained regarding power cuts during the paddy plantation period.

Balbir Singh Rajewal, chief of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) said, “All claims made by the government to provide un-interrupted power supply usually turn out to be false. The same is happened this year too.”

“Yesterday power cut was imposed during the paddy plantation period in Utalan village, near Samrala. Farmers do not ask for anything, but need power supply so that they can produce grains for the country, which is also not given to them,” he rued.

“If the power supply snaps during the paddy plantation time then the electricity board has to compensate it the following day by giving additional hours of power equal to the time of cut imposed the previous day,” he added.

Harinder Singh, general secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), Lakhowal said, “Farmers get power supply for only five to six hours as promised against eight hours.”

Villages near Samrala, including Bondli, Dayalpur, Manuke, and near Kohara, including Dhanasor and Mehlon, are not getting un-interrupted power supply.

“The union has been receiving complaints from farmers of these villages,” said Harinder.

Another farmer from Junetpura village, near Sidhwan Bet, said power supply was interrupted for nearly an hour due to some technical issue on Friday. It was later re-stored, but he was not sure whether compensation for the same would be given or not, he added.