Farmers lock XEN office at Goraya over long outages
BKU protests 12‑hour cuts, demand night power for fields
Farmers under the banner of the Bharti Kisan Union (BKU-Doaba) locked the office of the Executive Engineer (XEN), Power Department, Goraya, on Monday during a protest against prolonged electricity cuts in the Jalandhar region.
The protest escalated when farmers, who had gathered at the office to raise their grievances, saw the XEN attempting to leave in his vehicle and locked the main gate of the office premises. The gates remained locked for nearly half an hour, during which the officer remained inside before eventually meeting the farmers.
The protesting farmers alleged that villages in the Goraya and Phillaur areas had been facing power cuts lasting up to 12 hours daily, causing severe hardship, particularly to women and children during the ongoing summer heat.
Nearly 20 to 30 BKU activists participated in the protest. The farmers unlocked the gate when they were convinced that the XEN was ready to address their grievances.
Addressing the gathering, Jasvir Singh Sahota, vice-president of the BKU Doaba, Punjab, said farmers were receiving electricity mainly in afternoon hours, which was leading to frequent fire incidents in fields. “It is the peak season for irrigating crops like sugarcane and maize. We have repeatedly demanded that power be supplied during night hours from 2 am to 10 am,” he said, alleging that afternoon power supply had caused short circuits at motors, triggering stubble fires.
He claimed that nearly 100 acres of wheat stubble were destroyed in recent fires at Bara Pind and Atti villages due to power supply during peak heat hours.
District secretary of the union Tarsem Singh said the protest was not meant to lock the officer inside but to ensure that farmers’ concerns were heard. “We had informed the department in advance about our visit. Our sole demand is that the frequent power cuts be stopped and electricity be provided during night hours for agricultural operations,” he said.
Meanwhile, the XEN, Power Department, Goraya, said decisions regarding power supply and cuts were taken by the senior authorities. “We will convey the farmers’ grievances to higher officials and assure them that their issues will be taken up,” he said.
