By Kashif Zafar
Dozens of farmers staged a protest
demonstration against the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) for
sending inflated power bills.
The protesters blocked Sama Satta Road and
burned their electricity bills during the demonstration.
The protesters, belonging to Fatowali
village, chanted slogans against the government for what they said were its
anti-people policies.
They said some of them had received power
bills of more than a hundred thousand rupees just for the electricity they used
to run a tube-well to irrigate their fields. Farmer Abdul Aleem said the bills
were unjustified considering power outages in the village had now increased to
up to 20 hours. He said he was considering abandoning agriculture and migrating
to the city to take up manual labour. Haji Munir said he was also considering
selling his land because of the increased cost of farming. The protesters
stayed at the road for up to two hours, blocking traffic and causing
inconvenience to them. The protesters referred to Indian policies towards their
agriculture sector and said that the government should adopt similar pro-farmer
policies.
Published in The Express Tribune
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