Denied uninterrupted power supply for sowing paddy, farmers protest

Abohar, July 18

Paddy farmers, denied electricity for 8 hours in their villages, staged a dharna near the power grid station at Sito Gunno village last night to express dissatisfaction.

Kashmir Singh and other farmers of Bahadur Khera and Mahni Khera villages said the government had assured them of uninterrupted electricity supply for eight hours during the sowing of paddy. However, they said that they did not get the same, and due to that, the paddy crop was drying up.

They said they had staged a dharna a few days ago, after which the officials of the Punjab State Power Supply Corporation (PSPCL) assured them of continuous electricity supply. They said after they concluded their dharna, they had uninterrupted power supply for a few days; however, they did not have electricity for the last five days.

Farmers said they were supposed to get electricity until Wednesday night; however, the electricity supply was cut off after three hours, and they got a message that a power cut had been imposed.

The protesting farmers said they gathered and staged a dharna at 10 pm and started shouting slogans against the PSPCL and the state government. They said they would continue their protest until PSPCL assured them of uninterrupted power supply.

Senior Divisional Engineer Sudeep Sokhal and police personnel reached the spot to speak to the farmers. They assured them that paddy farmers would be given full electricity for 8 hours, after which the farmers ended the protest.