As reported earlier, the Congress Government in Punjab has decided to snatch the benefits of free power supply being given to the peasants of Punjab. Punjab Government is trying to trifurcate the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) to further its plans of privatization under the dictates of WTO regime. Such policies are being resented and opposed by the Punjab peasants.

In order to safeguard the earlier won facility of free-power supply for agricultural sector, six peasant organizations i.e. Kirti Kisan Union (AIKMS), Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta), Jamhoori Kisan Sabha Punjab, Punjab Kisan Sabha, All India Kirti-Kisan Union and Punjab Kheti-Bari Vikas Front, have given a call to boycott the new bills despatched to them. A widespread campaign for this purpose is being continuously conducted in various districts of Punjab and at many places the peasants have honoured this call and have refused to pay the bill. In this process, the campaign is being conducted at the village level and Peasants’ Committees are being organised at that level. Responsibility for nonpayment of the bills is entrusted is these Committees.

Rallies, mass meetings, flag marches and area level conferences are being organised at various places in several districts. A district-wise brief report follows.

Amritsar

A Peasant Conference attended by hundreds of peasants under Harsa-Cheena subdivision, assembled on 2nd December 2002 at Kukrawala on Amritsar-Ajnala road and protested against the anti-people and anti-peasant policies of the Congress Government.

A similar Conference was held at Fatehgarh Churia sub-divisional headquarters on 10th December 2002 in which 300 peasants participated to condemn and reject the policies being pursued by the Government.

The third Conference was held at village Chogawan, a border-village and sub-divisional headquarters of the same sub-division of PSEB.

The fourth Conference was organised at Jastarwal, which is also the sub-divisional headquarters of PSEB. Hundreds of peasants also participated despite the biting cold of the winter season and resolved to implement the bill-boycott call given by the six peasant organisations.

These Peasant Conferences were addressed by AIKMS leaders Com. Sukhraj Singh Cheena, Com. Jatinder Singh Cheena and leaders of Jamhoori Kisan Sabha and Punjab Kisan Sabha.

The campaign is still going on and preparations are underway is hold a tehsil-level conference to foil the attempts of authorities to disconnect the electricity connections to the motors. According to the Campaign-leaders the PSEB local authorities have passed disconnection orders on papers but are not implementing those in actuality due to wider protests of the peasants.

 Sangrur

KKU (AIKMS) and BKU both are implementing this call in Bhawanigarh block of Sangrur district and KKU workers have planned to expand the movement to other sub-divisions near Sangrur City. Bill-boycott agitation has also been expanded into some villages of Longowal subdivisions in Sangrur district.

Peasants led by KKU have swiftly resisted the moves of PSEB authorities, who disconnected the tube-well connections in village Ubhawal. The peasants went to the SDM and gheraoed his office. Some units of BKU (Rajewal) also participated in this gherao. The agitating peasants reconnected the connections and restored the power supply themselves. The peasants masses assembled were addressed by district level leaders of KKU and also by KKU State President Com. Hardev Singh Sandhu.

Similarly PSEB authorities disconnected the power supply and removed transmission cable at village Nariangarh in Bhawanigarh block. The peasants led by district leader Com. Avtar Singh Aulakh compelled the PSEB authorities to hand over the removed cable and by putting the cable in place also restored the power supply. Similar actions have been reported from Kanhgarh and villages around it. The peasants in hundreds assembled at Gharaehon sub-divisional headquarters. To protest against the high-handedness of the Board authorities they gheraoed the SDM of the Board there. This protest was led and addressed by some leaders of  BKU (Ekta) and BKU (Rajewal) also.

Ludhiana

In the first phase of this boycott campaign, peasants led by KKU assembled at the various power stations under Lakha sub-division of PSEB and later decided to start a flag march throughout the sub-divisions. The second team of peasants has decided to stage such flag-marches throughout the Bassian sub-division of PSEB. The leading team appealed to the peasants not to pay the second bills if any had paid the first ones way. The peasants of these villages have assured the nonpayment of the bills in future.

Nawanshahr

A similar propaganda campaign has been undertaken in many villages in district Nawanshahar and a scooter march has been organized throughout the various sub-divisions. Though people are positively responding to the propaganda but percentage of nonpayment of bill is small. The response is more positive in villages in the Kawdhi area of the Balachour which is situated at the feet of the Shivalik range. Here the peasants organisations have also taken up the issues of payment of sugarcane and SDM has assured that full payment of Rs. 100 per quintal will be made to the peasants.

Gurdaspur

The peasants’ organisations have also started the bill boycott campaign in this district. Meetings and rallies were organised and village level Peasants’ Committees have been formed to concretely implement the call in the villages under Behrampur sub-division of PSEB. Then a mass dharna was staged at Behrampur, the sub-divisional headquarters of PSEB which was addressed by Com. Satbir Singh the General Secretary of KKU and by local leaders of Jamhoori Kisan Sabha and Punjab Kisan Sabha.

Peasants’ organisations have also announced to intensify struggle for the full payment of arrears and full payment of current purchase price of sugar cane. Arrears amounting to crores of rupees are still pending with many private and cooperative sugar mills. A massive dharna was staged in front of cooperative mill Paniar situated at Gurdaspur – Pathankot Road which was addressed by well-known leaders of KKU, Jamhoori Kisan Sabha and Punjab Kisan Sabha.