BJP slams govt over power cuts in paddy season

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused the Punjab Government of failing to ensure adequate power supply to farmers during the ongoing paddy transplantation season, alleging that claims of a “power-surplus Punjab” had been exposed by widespread protests and electricity shortages.

Addressing the media, Munish Dheer, BJP district president (Jalandhar rural, south), said here today that protests, grid gheraos and road blockades by farmers in several parts of the state, including Majitha, Sangrur, Mansa, Patiala, Bathinda, Dhola, Tapa, Goindwal Sahib, Kathunangal and Sri Muktsar Sahib, reflected growing dissatisfaction over prolonged power cuts.

Dheer alleged that despite the Punjab Government’s promise of providing eight hours of uninterrupted electricity to agricultural consumers, farmers were receiving only three to four hours of irregular supply. He claimed that power outages during both day and night had severely affected irrigation work at the peak of the paddy transplantation season.