Farmers hold protest outside grid station - Seek eight-hour power supply for paddy season; Capt Amarinder flays govt
Tuesday, 19/06/2012
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120619/punjab.htm#10
Protesting against erratic power supply to the farm sector when paddy sowing is on, agitated farmers staged a sit in outside the 66-KV grid station at Pasiana, a few kilometres from the city.
Led by leaders of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Dakunda), they raised slogans against the state government and the Power Corporation. Dr Darshan Pal said the farmers were not getting power supply for eight hours as promised by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).
All such claims by power corporation functionaries were a sham. He said if the corporation did not keep its word, the farmers would intensify their agitation and gherao all grid stations in the state. When contacted, PSPCL Director, Distribution, Arun Verma, said the power scenario had improved and farmers were indeed being provided power for eight hours daily.
“Power supply is less only to some sub-stations that are overloaded. We had made this clear prior to the start of the paddy season”, he explained.
Meanwhile, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Capt Amarinder Singh has said that claims by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal that Punjab would soon be power-surplus had proved hollow.
Flaying the government for being ill-prepared to deal with the power demand during the summer season, he said: “A six-hour power cut in the domestic sector, the two-day weekly off imposed on industry and erratic power supply to the farm sector spoke volumes of the poor performance of the power department, the portfolio which is with the CM.”
Amarinder said immediately after the municipal elections on June 10, the power corporation had begun imposing power cuts in the entire state despite the government claim that there would be no power cuts this summer. On the uncertainty over some upcoming thermal plants, Amarinder said the CM should give a status report on all upcoming thermal plants during the assembly session, starting June 19.
