The Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM-Punjab) has launched a statewide protest against the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) over the ongoing power crisis affecting the farm sector. Farmers are holding sit-in demonstrations across the state, demanding immediate action to address the acute electricity shortage.
KMM convener Sarwan Singh Pandher stated that the severe shortage of electricity has severely disrupted paddy plantation. Farmers are struggling to irrigate their fields due to the lack of power supply, threatening their livelihoods and the agricultural season.
According to The Tribune, the protests are being held against PSPCL officials across the state over the power crisis in the farm sector.
Tensions escalated when farmers heading to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's Lok Milni programme in Moga were detained by the police. Pandher alleged that despite prior intimation to the authorities about the farmers' delegation visit, they were arrested.
"This is dictatorship instead of democracy." — Sarwan Singh Pandher, KMM convener, as reported by The Tribune
Pandher warned that if the government continued to suppress farmers' voices, the unions would hold a chakka jam — a complete road blockade — across Punjab.
The power crisis in Punjab's farm sector is not a new issue, but the timing could not be worse. With paddy plantation underway, any disruption to electricity supply directly threatens the livelihoods of thousands of farmers. The KMM's protests highlight a genuine crisis that requires immediate government intervention.
To put it plainly, detaining farmers who were simply trying to meet the Chief Minister is not a sign of a functioning democracy. If the government wants to avoid a full-blown chakka jam, it must engage with the farmers' representatives and resolve the power shortage without delay. Ignoring the problem will only make it worse.
