Ludhiana, July 21
With the power situation in the state deteriorating day by day, farmers have taken to streets to protest against the inefficiency of the Punjab State Electricity Board for not providing adequate power supply when they need it the most.
The farmers led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) will organise a state-level dharna outside the office of the PSEB in Patiala tomorrow.
Mr Manjit Singh Kadian, the secretary general of the BKU, said the union leaders had surveyed various villages and found that at least 40 per cent of the paddy crop was already damaged due to the vagaries of weather as well as the lackadaisical attitude of the PSEB authorities.
He said the farmers were trying hard to save the rest of the crop by supplying irrigation water, however, the power supply to the agriculture sector did not exceed three to four hours in a day.
Mr Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, president of the BKU, said the lowering of the underground water level was also adding to the miseries of the farmers as they were getting submersible pumps installed at exorbitant prices. The farmers had already spent a lot of money on seeds, fertilisers and pesticides and were forced to spend money on diesel to generate electricity to save their crop, he said.
The BKU leaders demanded a continuous power supply for at least 10 hours , roll back in the prices of fertilisers and pesticides and the MSP of various crops to commensurate with the price index.
They threatened to resort to agitation if the government did not meet their demands.
