Farmers Movement Archive

Rs 3.5L arrears: PSPCL cuts supply to house of farmer who died at Singhu protest

Jalandhar: The Punjab State Power Supply Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) has snapped the electricity connection to the house of a marginal farmer, who had died at Singhu border protest on January 25, over Rs 3.5 lakh pending dues. The village panchayat is now seeking the chief minister’s intervention while Adampur SAD MLA Panwan Teenu met PSPCL chief engineer on Monday and submitted a memorandum, seeking a bill waiver and resuming supply to the farmer’s house. Bhupinder Singh, 52, of Bolina village, had gone to the Delhi border along with other farmers to participate in the tractor parade on January 26 but died there. His son Hardeep Singh, 24, said that power connection in their house, which was snapped on March 18, was in name of his great grandfather and their power bill piled up due to some glitches. “In December, we were given notice to pay the entire amount within a fortnight but we did not have the money. We got Rs five lakh after the death of my father but a major chunk of that money had to be spent on my sister’s illness and on some other household works needing urgent attention. We could not pay the Rs 3.5 lakh bill amount,” he said. The family, which has a 1.5 acre landholding, has been charging inverter-battery at another house in the village for use at night. PSPCL SDO Shamsher Singh said the electricity bill was due for a long time and they were left with no option but to cut the supply as the family failed to deposit the money despite several notices. Village sarpanch Kulwinder Singh said the chief minister should intervene into the matter as the family was barely able to make both ends and now their power connection had been cut.

The Times of India

2021-03-23

Chandigarh