Kandi farmers urge for lesser power tariff

HOSHIARPUR: Farmers of the Kandi area urged state health minister Ramesh Dogra, MLA from Dasuya, to address their demand of one-third tariff in case the Punjab government decided to levy electricity bills on agriculture.
Bhagwant Singh Ahluwalia, president, New Age Fruit Growers Association (NAFGA), while speaking at a dinner meeting at local Services Club, requested the minister to become a representative of the Kandi farmers and lead their delegation to meet the chief minister to apprise him of their problems.
According to Ahluwalia though NAFGA had represented its case of one-third tariff for Kandi area to Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission , yet the decision of charging bills to agriculture sector was going to be a political one.
Ahluwalia informed the minister that in Kandi the water-table was very low as compared to other areas in Punjab, due to which to draw one cusec of water three times more power was needed.
So, while deciding the electricity tariff, the government should keep this rationale in mind, he said. The farmers also demanded 24-hour electricity supply for the Kandi area as they claimed they had become virtually bankrupt coping with diesel bills for irrigation purposes.
Kamaljit Chopra, superintending engineer (SE), PSEB, informed the farmers’ group that PSEB had in May taken a policy decision to provide 24-hour three-phase electricity to Kandi but due to the delayed monsoon the same could not be implemented.