Farmers protesting against erratic power supply for sowing of paddy and other issues gheraoed Punjab cabinet minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot at Chehel village of Patiala district’s Nabha sub-division on Wednesday.
The minister was at the village for foundation stone laying ceremony of a road.
The farmers were also protesting against the state government’s failure to waive their loans as promised in the 2017 assembly poll manifesto and its inability to resolve the issue pertaining to the three controversial farm acts.
The protesters gathered around the minister as soon as he reached the spot and raised slogans against him. A heavy police force was deployed to keep situation under control.
Baljit Singh, a farmer activist, said the farmers are facing a huge problem irrigating their fields due to erratic power supply. “We are not getting the 8-hour supply as promised. The same minister before 2017 sat on the same road with us demanding proper power supply against the then Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) government. But after coming to power, the Congress is following in the footsteps of its predecessor,” he said.
A video of the incident also surfaced in which a woman is seen confronting Dharamsot for visiting the area after five years.“What is the need of visiting people with such heavy police force now when you (Dharamsot) came alone while seeking votes in 2017? It took you five years to get worried about the construction of the road,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}A video of the incident also surfaced in which a woman is seen confronting Dharamsot for visiting the area after five years.“What is the need of visiting people with such heavy police force now when you (Dharamsot) came alone while seeking votes in 2017? It took you five years to get worried about the construction of the road,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}Dharamsot could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
In a press release, Dharamsot said the state government will fulfill all the promises made in its 2017 poll manifesto before 2022 elections.
Also, farmers blocked the Ludhiana- Ferozepur highway near Dagru village in Moga district over poor power supply.
The protesters said they were getting only 4-hour supply since paddy sowing started.
They blocked the highway for at least 4 hours, causing inconvenience to commuters.
BKU to block national highway tomorrow
The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) announced to block the Jalandhar-Ludhiana national highway on Friday over poor power supply during the paddy sowing season. Union’s Jalandhar district president Mandeep Singh Samra said the Punjab government is not providing 8-hour power supply to farmers as it is hand in glove with the Centre that wants to erode the ongoing protests in Delhi.