Chandigarh: Congress MLA and former IAS officer Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal on Monday accused both the Punjab and central govts of failing farmers, alleging that erratic power supply and shortage of fertilisers were hurting paddy cultivation.Dhaliwal said that despite the Punjab government’s claim of surplus electricity, farmers were not getting power during the scheduled hours for irrigation, forcing them to wait for long periods and disrupting paddy cultivation.He alleged that irregular electricity supply during the peak sowing season could affect crop yields, adding that the gap between the government’s claims and the ground situation was being borne by farmers.Targeting the Centre, Dhaliwal said it had failed to ensure timely availability of urea and other fertilisers, forcing farmers in many places to queue for supplies while shortages persisted in several areas.He urged the Punjab government to ensure uninterrupted power supply as per the announced schedule and asked the Centre to immediately improve the availability of urea and other essential fertilisers. Delay in addressing the issues, he said, could adversely affect paddy production and further strain farmers’ finances.
