8-hr power for farmers on alternate days
Power needs of industry ‘ignored’
Umesh Dewan
Tribune News Service

Patiala, March 27
Under fire from the industry and farmers, on the issue of failure in meeting their power requirements, the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) management today convened an emergent meeting with the representatives of the farming community.

The top brass of the board has assured that the board would provide eight-hour power supply to farmers on alternate days and four-hour daily power supply for farmers of the border areas would be ensured for the last watering of wheat crop.

While chairing a meeting of the board officials and the representatives of the Bharti Kisan Union, Punjab (Lakhowal), here today, PSEB chairman HS Brar said the board had made adequate arrangements for the coming paddy to ensure eight-hour uninterrupted power supply to farmers. He said the board had made banking arrangements and agreements for power purchase for the paddy season 2010.

Giving further details, Brar said: “To meet with the paddy demand, the PSEB has been deloading the overloaded transformers and this work would be completed by May 31 this year. Besides, work of maintenance of transmission lines, distribution lines, sub-stations would also be completed by May 31. “In another announcement, Brar said applicants, who had applied before March 31, 1990, and had submitted the test reports, would be given tube well connections before May 31 this year.

Notably, in order to give minimum eight-hour power supply to agriculture tube well consumers on alternative days till March 31, the PSEB had already increased the weekly load shedding of the industry across the state. The units located in designated industrial areas are facing 60-hour power cuts, whereas the PSEB had imposed three-day weekly off on induction and rolling furnaces.

The peak load restrictions have been increased up to 12 hours, instead of the existing 3 hours.

Punjab Mandi Board and president of BKU (Lakhowal) Ajmer Singh Lakhowal has, however, expressed his satisfaction over the steps being taken by the PSEB on the power front. Though board officials claimed to have pacified the agitated farmers but as far as the industrialists are concerned, the PSEB still seems to be in a tight spot.

“Because of the anti-industry policies, already considerable chunk of the industrial units of the state had migrated to other states. If some remedial measures are not initiated pertaining to the power needs of the industry, the micro-industry, which has very limited resources, would vanish”, rued DS Chawla, president of the United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association. Perturbed with the board’s announcement of imposing three-day weekly off, many industrialists pointed out that though the industry is the backbone of the state economy but unfortunately the government is only concerned with the farming sector.