Power cuts: Farmers block highway, gherao PSPCL Chief Engineer's office

Jalandhar, April 29

Farmers under the banner of Bharti Kisan Union (Qadian) and Bharti Kisan Union (Sidhupur) blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway to protest against the rampant power cuts. Farmers also gheraoed the office of the Chief Engineer, PSPCL, over the issue. However, after assurances of uninterrupted power, they later lifted the blockade.

KMSC plans protest outside DC offices

Members of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) on Friday gheraoed the Power Minister in Amritsar in protest against power cuts. The KMSC will hold protests from May 5 outside DC offices to protest against power cuts and to demand surface water provision for irrigation to farmers so that groundwater depletion may be countered.

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Bharti Kisan Union (Sidhupur), state president, Jagjit Singh Dallewal and district president Kulwinder Singh Machiana as well as union leader Pargat Singh Sarhali held meeting with the Chief Engineer. From the BKU (Qadian) Jasbir Singh Litan, district president, Kapurthala led the farmers.

Farmers said rampant power cuts and the demand for electricity in sweltering heat weren’t just a farm issue. They said the CM, during his meeting with the farmers, urged them to grow Moong dal crop to promote diversity in farming.

Sarhali said the wheat yield this year had been reduced by 50 per cent per acre. On top of it, due to non-provision of electricity by the Power Department, maize, sugarcane, green straw and vegetable crops were dying out forcing farmers to use diesel motors to irrigate their crops.

He said on one hand the government was asking farmers to take to direct sowing of paddy, on the other hand very minimal power is being provided to them at a critical time in the crop cycle. Farmers said there was no electricity to sustain DSR (direct seeding of rice) in the fields.

Members of the BKU (Sidhupur) also said the union’s president Jagjit Singh Dallewal had a meeting with the PSPCL Chairman Baldev Sarah in which farmers were assured of at least five hours of uninterrupted power in the coming days and even if there is a cut, it will be substituted with that much more power supply in the next shift.