By SHUBHAJIT Chakraborty
Chandigarh, March 14: Farmer associations in Punjab have found a new way to raise their voices against the state government – they are planning to disrupt IPL matches to protest the government’s decision to roll back free power.
“Thousands of farmers from all across the state will gather in Chandigarh next week to protest the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government’s decision to roll back free power. We will decide on the mode of protest then. Disrupting IPL matches can well be one of the ways to register our protest,” said Bhupinder Singh Mann, a former Rajya Sabha member and president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union.
King XI Punjab got a defeat by Delhi Daredevils at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali yesterday. The home team will play four more matches in home ground on March 24, March 27, April 2 and April 9.
State government had charged over lakh farmers for power since January. The decision came after the recommendations of a committee consisting of deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia.
Farmers are used to draw 5 BHP to BHP tubewells for irrigation. The cabinet has the cleared the recommendation of the committee and charge Rs. 50 per BHP.
“We have to draw the attention of the government towards the injustice caused to us by rolling back free power. Unless we don’t do something drastic (like disrupting IPL matches) our grievances and difficulties will never be heard,” a farmer in Sohana, on the outskirts of Mohali, said.
He said Punjab farmers supplied food grains to the entire country. “With diesel and fertiliser prices hitting the sky and heavy power bills now on the anvil, we have no other option but to protest,” Mann said.
