UP Farmers Oppose Tube Well Meter Installation,Plan Massive Agitation
Representational Image. Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Lucknow: Anguished farmers in western Uttar Pradesh (UP) staring at crop failure aftermost districts were flooded have planned a massive agitation against the Yogi Adityanath government for not fulfilling its 2022 Assembly election campaignpromise of free electricity for private tube wells.
Farmer outfits, includingAll India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), have been protesting in several parts of the sugarcane belt to press for the immediate removal of electricity meters from tube wells and “arbitrary” electricity bills. They have threatened to block railway tracks across the state if demands are unmet.
Farmers told Newsclick that electricity meters are being installed without the consent of farmers. Farmers will launch an agitation across the state and the administration will be solely responsible for any conflict, they said.
Farmers in Bijnor reportedly clashed with the district administration over meter installation. However, they called off the protest after officials ‘assured’ them of escalating the issue to the government.
According to farmers, they pay electricity at the rate of Rs 185 per horsepower while Haryana charges Rs 35; whereas, it is free in Punjab. They don’t want free electricity but fear that meters will ruin them.
“Villages have erratic power supply. Meter installation would increase the electricity bill,” farmer leader Sukhdeep Tomar told Newsclick. “We have told officials that no farmer will allow installation of meter on their tubewells,” he added.
The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited(UPPCL) started installing meters in May 2022and set a target ofcovering all tube wells by August this year. However, opposition by farmersslowed down the process.
Several instances of farmers taking UPPCL employees hostage while they were installing meters and uprooting meters from tube wells were reported. Last June, hundreds of farmers from different districts of the region gathered at the headquarters of PVVNL in Meerut under the aegis of BKU to oppose meter installation.
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