Punjab farmers facing power cut

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MaaPeya Da LaaDLa
NABHA/PATIALA: The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) had claimed that it was giving enough electricity to state farmers by imposing long unscheduled power cuts in urban areas, but the ground reality is different. The farmers of 23 villages of Nabha sub-division have not got electricity to irrigate their paddy crop from last four days.

Sources said that the 12.5 MVA transformer of Gurditpura 66 KV sub-station of PSEB, which supplies electricity to 23 adjoining villages, indicated buckle alarm, a technical problem, on Sunday night.

Officers posted here, closed the grid immediately and informed their seniors. On Monday, the protection and grid maintenance staff officers extricated five drums of oil from the transformer and sent the samples to department's laboratory at Khanna.

Though laboratory reports disclosed that two gasses were in excess quantity than permissible limit in the transformer, but surprisingly the electricity department officials on Monday again switched on the transformer and started putting load on it.

But the lack of proper repair again led to buckle alarm in transformer on Tuesday morning and since then the grid has been lying closed.

Farmers of almost all 23 villages, including Gurditpura, Godai, Dhillowal, Sukhewal, Ashopura, Bawarpur, Dhurdawala, Gurjakheri, Doda and many others do not have power to run tubewells.

Keeping in view the rising anger, the PSEB authorities have arranged power from Nabha, Amargarh and Dhuri grids for domestic use, but there is no power for fields.

"We do not have power to irrigate our fields from past three days, while PSEB officers say the repair of grid would take two more days." alleged Gurbachan Singh, a farmer who had come to the grid spot to know about the repair work.

The PSEB authorities have removed the defected transformer and have brought a new transformer from Jalandhar, but PSEB sources said, board needed at least two days to fit the new transformer, which means farmers will have to remain without agriculture power for two more days. Inderjit Singh, grid incharge, said, "we have been trying our best to restore power to the farmers".
 
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