Tubewell thefts: Thieves strike twice in 2 weeks, farmers demand action

Farmers in rural areas are feeling helpless and angry after facing repeated thefts at their tubewells. One such farmer, Kuljeet Singh, has suffered losses not once, but twice within just 15 days.

Kuljeet said that the first theft occurred during the night of August 5 and 6, when thieves broke the wall of his tubewell room and stole expensive electrical equipment. “That night, 15 tubewells in our area were looted. In most cases, the thieves broke open the doors, but my door was too strong, so they broke the wall instead,” he said.

After the incident, Kuljeet managed to buy new equipment and repair the wall, hoping the issue was resolved. However, to his shock, the thieves returned on August 16 and broke through the wall once again. “This is a double loss for me. Now I have to buy everything again and there’s no guarantee it will be safe this time,” he said.

Another farmer, Joginder Singh, expressed his frustration with the authorities. “It is shameful that the police haven’t even filed an FIR. This shows they are not serious about catching the thieves,” he said. Farmers like Kuljeet and Joginder are now living in fear and frustration. While many have reported the thefts to the police, no action has been taken so far.

“This is not just about money. It’s about our livelihood and survival. We work hard every day in the fields, but now we’re scared to even leave our equipment out at night,” said another farmer, adding that with paddy requiring continuous water supply, they are forced to replace stolen equipment on short notice.

Tubewell thefts have become a frequent occurrence in rural areas. Every year, a large number of farmers are affected and these thefts are often labelled as a handiwork of the drug addicts. Even transformers installed by the power corporation are often targeted. Despite the scale of the problem, such incidents fail to find a place in official police records.