Kisan Mazdoor Morcha holds protest outside powercom offices over power crisis in Punjab, warns of 'chakka jam'
PTC News Desk: The Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) is protesting outside the powercom offices over the ongoing power crisis in the farm sector.
KMM convener Sarwan Pandher said the acute shortage of electricity had disrupted paddy plantation and left farmers struggling to irrigate their fields.
Tensions escalated further after farmers were detained by the police as they were heading towards Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s Lok Milni programme in Moga.
The farmers also warned of intensifying protest and the unions would hold a 'chakka jam'. Farmer leader Pandher said that farmer groups will continue attending the Chief Minister’s Lok Milni programmes to question him about the ongoing power shortage.
He claimed that electricity supply for farming has been cut to only four hours a day, forcing farmers to use their savings or take loans to operate diesel-powered pumps for irrigation.
Pandher said the issue had been raised with the Power Minister and the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of PSPCL, but no effective action had been taken. Although farmers were promised uninterrupted power, many areas were actually receiving only two-and-a-half to four hours of electricity daily, which was badly affecting irrigation during the paddy cultivation season, he added.
The KMM demanded at least 16 hours of uninterrupted electricity for agricultural use and round-the-clock power supply for households. It also called for faulty transformers to be replaced within 24 hours.
- With inputs from agencies
