Bargarh/New Delhi: With Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) extending support, a massive struggle by Bargarh farmers against the privatisation of electricity distribution has gathered steam.
As part of their protest, the farmers in Bargarh and surrounding districts of western Odisha are boycotting prepaid smart meters installed by the discom.
SKM said prepaid smart meters were being installed against the agreement made by the Narendra Modi government December 9, 2020, under which a discussion was to be held with SKM before the enactment of the Electricity Privatisation Bill. SKM has demanded 300 units of free electricity per month for the families engaged in farming, it said in a statement.
More than 15,000 farmers from Bargarh district protested against the smart metres and voluntarily removed them from their homes and farms and piled them up in the office of the distribution company in Padampur and other blocks, SKM said.
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SKM strongly condemned the suppression of the peaceful movement of farmers against privatisation of the power sector by the BJP government of Odisha led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The BJP which has come to power for the first time in Odisha has adopted a repressive approach towards this movement, it said.
SKM also said farmer leader Ramesh Mohapatra was called a habitual offender in an official notice. It should be noted that the only FIRs registered against him by the police are in the cases of farmers voluntarily boycotting smart meters, the SKM said.
A petition has been filed in the Orissa High Court to get the notice quashed, it said. The court has issued notice to the state government.
Bargarh District Bar Association and Orissa High Court Bar Association are supporting the farmers’ movement.
SKM said the privatisation of electricity has become another tool to exploit the farmers and the public in general.
PNN & Agencies
