Jalandhar protest: Akali Dal demands 24-hour power, burns effigies outside Shakti Sadan

Akali Dal stages mass demonstration against power cuts in Jalandhar

Jalandhar: The Shiromani Akali Dal on Monday held a large protest outside the Chief Engineer’s office at Shakti Sadan here, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party-led state government of mismanagement over widespread scheduled and unscheduled power cuts across Punjab. The party’s Jalandhar Urban unit burned effigies of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal and handed over a memorandum of demands to Chief Engineer Sarabjit Singh, according to local reports.

Leaders cite impact on households, businesses and farming

The protest was led by Akali Dal District President Iqbal Singh Dhindsa. Party workers and supporters gathered outside the electricity department office to protest long hours of power interruption that, they said, are disrupting domestic life as well as commercial activity and agricultural operations.

Addressing the demonstrators, the Akali Dal charged that the current crisis has been caused by poor planning and lax policies of the AAP government and the power department. The party said leaders who had promised round-the-clock electricity before elections have failed to ensure a steady supply.

Demands submitted to the Chief Engineer

At the end of the agitation, the delegation submitted a memorandum to the office of the Chief Engineer. The document, as reported, called for immediate steps to end both scheduled and unscheduled cuts and for the restoration of uninterrupted power supply across the state.

• Location: Protest outside Chief Engineer's office, Shakti Sadan, Jalandhar.
• Leaders: Jalandhar Urban unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal; District President Iqbal Singh Dhindsa.
• Actions: March, burning effigies of Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal; memorandum handed to Chief Engineer Sarabjit Singh.
• Key demand: Restoration of 24-hour uninterrupted electricity across Punjab.

Local context and likely consequences

Jalandhar is both a significant urban centre and a hub for small and medium enterprises; reliable power is crucial for industrial units, cold chains and mills. Farmers across Punjab also depend on electricity for irrigation pumps during peak sowing and harvesting periods. Repeated and prolonged interruptions can increase production costs, disrupt manufacturing schedules and affect perishable agricultural output.

Political agitation over power is not new in the state; power tariffs, distribution losses and procurement arrangements have been key points of contention between successive governments. The Akali Dal characterised the present situation as a failure of planning and called on the state administration to set in place contingency measures to avoid aggravating hardship for households and businesses.

The agitation highlights the mounting public frustration over electricity supply. For residents of Jalandhar, recurring outages carry immediate consequences: domestic inconvenience, higher reliance on diesel or inverters, and operational disruption for small units that form the backbone of local industry. For farmers, dependable power windows are critical for irrigation; uncertainty can affect sowing schedules and yields.

Officials at the Chief Engineer’s office received the memorandum; the reports do not include any immediate response or remedial timeline from the electricity department or the state government. The protest signals an escalation of political pressure on the administration to outline corrective measures and to communicate an action plan to affected citizens and stakeholders.

As the situation develops, residents and industry associations in Jalandhar will likely watch for official directives on load-shedding schedules, emergency arrangements and any interim relief for households and enterprises dependent on continuous power supply.