Don’t Disrupt Telecom Services, And Inconvenience Citizens, Punjab CM Appeals To Protesting Farmers Who Vandalised Mobile Towers

Reacting to reports of disconnection of power supply to various mobile towers across the state, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today (Dec 25) appealed to agitating farmers not to inconvenience the general public with such actions, The Tribune reported.

After staging protests outside the petrol pumps and retail outlets of Reliance, unruly protesters resorted to disconnecting the power supply to Jio mobile towers disrupting the telecom giant’s services in several parts of the state. Farmers owing allegiance to different farmers’ union have shut the power supply to several Jio towers in Nawanshahr, Ferozepur, Mansa, Barnala, Fazilka, Patiala and Moga districts in last three days.

The Punjab CM urged the protesters to continue exercising the same restraint as they had been showing over the past several months of their agitation.

Urging the farmers not to take the law in their hands by forcibly shutting down telecom connectivity or manhandling employees/technicians of telecom service providers, the Chief Minister said such actions were not in the interest of Punjab and its future.

The Chief Minister’s appeal came in the wake of a plea from the Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association (TAIPA), a registered body of Telecom Infrastructure Providers, asking the state government to persuade the farmers not to resort to any unlawful activity in their fight for justice.

Forceful disruption of telecom services due to snapping of power supply to mobile towers by farmers in several parts of the state was not only adversely affecting the studies and future prospects of students, who are dependent entirely on online education, but also hampering the daily life of people working from home due to the pandemic, said the Chief Minister.

Captain Amarinder pointed out that the prolonged economic crisis, which would be aggravated as a result of telecom service disruption in the state, would have a trigger-effect on the agriculture sector, as well as the farming community too.