Farmers Protest in Punjab: Due to the indefinite 'rail stop' movement in Punjab, goods trains are unable to run and this has affected the supply of coal in thermal power plants. "We have two days of coal left," said Venuprasad, chairman and managing director of Punjab State Electricity Corporation Limited.
In Punjab, the supply of coal to the state's thermal power plants has been severely affected due to the 'Rail Stop' demonstration in protest against the Farm Act 2020. The officials said this on Saturday. Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal has appealed to the farmer's organizations protesting against the three new agricultural laws to relax the movement so that the movement of goods trains can take place. He told reporters, "If the goods trains do not start moving, then I am afraid that there may be a power cut and the power supply may be completely disrupted in the state."
Due to the indefinite 'rail stop' movement in Punjab, goods trains are not running and due to this, the supply of coal in thermal power plants has been affected. "We have two days of coal left," said Venuprasad, chairman and managing director of Punjab State Electricity Corporation Limited. According to officials, Lehra Mohabbat, Ropar, and GVK thermal power plants have already closed. Two other power plants - Talwandi Sabu and Nabha are only able to produce half of their total power generation capacity.
Already power cuts in many areas of the state
Some parts of the state are already facing power cuts due to low power generation. There is a demand for more than 7,000 MW power in the state and 6,500 MW power is being purchased from other sources including private companies. Various farmer organizations are protesting against the new agricultural laws. He started the agitation 'Stop the Rail' movement from October 1 and intensified the protest.
Meanwhile, several farmers' organizations met in Barnala on Saturday and discussed the appeal of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to relax the 'Stop the Rail' movement. However, no decision was taken at the meeting. Earlier, in the meeting of October 7, the farmer leaders did not pay attention to Singh's plea to allow goods trains to run.