PATIALA: Many protesters carried generator sets for electricity at the farmer agitation sites on Delhi's borders following interruptions in electricity supply over the last three days.
Farmer leaders said many of these generators were owned by the farmers while others had rented them.
The farmers said they needed the electricity not only to charge their mobiles but for several other purposes, including using machines to make chapatis at langars.
BKU Ekta-Ugrahan general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokarikalan said, "The farmers on their own have brought these generators to get electricity supply. Many have also arranged small solar batteries for electrical appliances. The need for more generators was felt after the central government had stopped electricity supply for the streetlights besides cutting down water supplies and internet services to suppress the farmers' agitation. Even electricians from numerous villages, including some from farming backgrounds, have arrived here in large numbers. The farmers are in high spirits and are facing these small issues bravely."
"It was like a complete blackout but we had already brought along a few generators at the very beginning. More generators have reached our agitation site at Tikri border from various parts of Punjab. The diesel expenses are being contributed by the villagers using the electricity," said Balwant Singh of Rarh village in Mansa, adding he had brought along his generator set at the beginning of the protest.
Gurvinder Singh, another BKU Ekta-Ugrahan official from Patiala, said, "The villagers of Daun Kalan in Patiala brought a generator yesterday and now we are getting power from here. At the langar site we need the power to operate chapat-making machines."