A day after farmer unions called off their protest following assurances from PSPCL officials regarding adequate power supply, members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) staged a dharna on Tuesday outside the office of the Chief Engineer of the department in Jalandhar, demanding uninterrupted electricity for paddy cultivation.
The protesting farmers raised slogans and took up issues with the Chief Engineer (North), PSPCL, stating that erratic electricity supply was severely affecting irrigation and crop management during the peak paddy season.
The Chief Engineer assured them that efforts would be made to ensure better power supply. “I can give you assurance that you will get power supply. There are power cuts in the industry as well,” he said.
He further stated that the situation is expected to improve once rainfall occurs.
The farmers said the government had promised to provide eight-hour uninterrupted power supply during the paddy season. However, they alleged that for the past 10 days, the PSPCL has been imposing power cuts, leaving them with only three to four hours of electricity daily.
The union leaders said the reduced power supply is inadequate for irrigation and could adversely affect the paddy crop. They warned that farmers would be forced to rely on costly diesel-powered pumps, resulting in significant financial losses.
Following the protest, the farmers submitted a memorandum to the Chief Engineer, reiterating their demand for an uninterrupted eight-hour power supply during the paddy season.
The union members claimed that the Chief Engineer gave a written assurance that farmers would be provided eight hours of electricity supply. The protesters subsequently called off the dharna after receiving the assurance.
Among those who participated in the protest were BKU (Rajewal) president Mandeep Singh Samra, Punjab vice-president Mukesh Chander, Jalandhar vice-president Major Singh, and others.
