This was stated by Chairman Majlis-e-Shura Pakistan Kissan Ittehad Riaz Ahmed while talking to APP here Thursday.
He told, farmers had paid Rs4.55 per unit during month of May last and rates got double in June and Rs13 per unit during peak timings.
He added, farmers are facing financial hardship due to hike in electricity tariff and low prices of cotton, sugar-cane and other commodities.
He told, over 5000 farmers as protest had not paid their bills for last two months.
Meanwhile, President Pakistan Kissan Ittehad Ch.Mohammad Anwar said that farmers’ community would launch countrywide protest against electricity prices for agri tubewells. He demanded of government to take notice of farmers’ plight as the electricity issue would be blow to agriculture sector.
When contacted Mepco spokesperson Jamshaid Niazi, he told, there were over 60,000 tube-wells consumers in the region. He said, agri tube-wells consumers were default of Rs1.5 billions. He told that connection of the consumers would be disconnected, in case they failed to deposit pending bills. He said that some farmers were resisting in making payments.
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2012