Power cuts trigger water crisis in Beet area, residents stage protest

Prolonged and undeclared power cuts in the Beet area of Garhshankar have begun to take a serious toll, disrupting essential services and leaving residents grappling with acute shortage of drinking water. In protest, a large number of villagers gathered outside the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) office at Beenewal and burnt an effigy of the Punjab Government, demanding immediate restoration of uninterrupted electricity supply.

The protesters said that while power outages are causing inconvenience in households, the bigger crisis is the breakdown of drinking water supply schemes. Nearly a dozen water supply systems in the Beet belt depend entirely on electricity, and repeated, unscheduled cuts have rendered them non-functional for hours. As a result, many villages are facing severe scarcity of potable water, forcing residents to struggle for even basic daily needs.

Highlighting the vulnerability of the region, locals pointed out that the Beet area does not have alternative arrangements such as private tube wells or industrial infrastructure. Electricity is crucial not only for domestic use but also for running water supply schemes, making the impact of power cuts far more severe than in other areas. With summer just beginning, residents fear the situation could worsen significantly in the coming weeks.

Speakers recalled that residents had earlier secured 24-hour power supply for the area after sustained struggle, but the current situation reflects a rollback of that progress. They warned that if uninterrupted power is not restored soon, the agitation would be intensified after the wheat harvesting season, including gherao of officials and blocking of the Anandpur Sahib road.

The protesters handed over a memorandum to Executive Engineer PSPCL Sumit Dhawan demanding immediate restoration of 24-hour power supply in Beet area.

Executive Engineer Sumit Dhawan assured the protesters that the issue has been taken up with higher authorities in Patiala and expressed confidence that 24-hour power supply to the Beet area would be restored within the next two to three days.

Ajaib Singh Boparai, Director of the NGO Voice of People, said, “This is not merely an electricity issue, it is a humanitarian crisis. When power supply fails in the Beet belt, it directly cuts off access to drinking water. The government must understand that people here are being pushed towards extreme hardship. Immediate and sustained intervention is the need of the hour.”

Despite the assurance, resentment continues to simmer among residents, who say that repeated disruptions have already exposed the fragile living conditions in the region and demand a long-term, reliable solution.