Former Punjab Health Minister and senior Congress leader Balbir Singh Sidhu launched a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over the severe power and irrigation crisis in the state, alleging that its false claims and administrative failures have pushed farmers and ordinary citizens into extreme hardship. He said that during the crucial paddy transplantation season, farmers are receiving neither adequate canal water nor sufficient electricity, putting thousands of acres of crops at risk of drying up.
Sidhu stated that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has repeatedly claimed that canal water has been ensured up to the tail-end areas of the irrigation network. However, the ground reality is entirely different. Canal tails and distributaries remain dry, farmers are struggling for every drop of water, and paddy transplantation has been severely affected.
Farmers are being forced to make repeated visits to government offices, yet their grievances remain unheard. He said the government's claims exist only in advertisements and official documents.
He further said that the AAP government, which had promised sweeping change, has failed on every front. Across Punjab's cities and villages, prolonged unscheduled power cuts have made life extremely difficult for the public.
Reminding the Chief Minister and his ministers of their election promises, Sidhu said the "broom government" had confidently assured farmers that they would now be able to work like government officers—reaching their fields at 9 a.m. and returning home in the evening. Instead, the situation has turned out to be exactly the opposite.
He described this not as change but as the greatest betrayal of Punjab's farming community. Sidhu said farmers are bearing the brunt of the government's failures. To prevent their paddy crop from drying up, they are forced to run diesel generators around the clock due to erratic electricity supply.
A high-powered tube well or irrigation pump now consumes around 60 to 70 litres of diesel per day. At current diesel prices, farmers are spending an additional ₹5,000 to ₹7,000 daily from their own pockets.
He said this extra financial burden is breaking farmers economically and is a direct consequence of the government's negligence. Questioning the government's policies, Sidhu asked how farmers could earn any profit if such enormous daily costs were imposed on agriculture.
He said these excessive expenses have wiped out farm profitability, making it difficult even to recover production costs. According to him, the government is merely pretending to be farmer-friendly while pushing cultivators deeper into debt and financial distress.
Sidhu added that not only farmers but also traders, shopkeepers, industrialists and ordinary citizens are suffering under the present government. Long power outages during the peak summer season have disrupted industries, crippled small businesses, caused hardships for patients in hospitals, and left children, women and the elderly struggling in their homes.
He alleged that crores of rupees collected from Punjab taxpayers are being spent on election campaigns and government advertisements in other states instead of strengthening Punjab's electricity and irrigation infrastructure. In conclusion, Sidhu demanded that the Power Department immediately end all unscheduled power cuts and ensure uninterrupted electricity supply for both agriculture and domestic consumers.
He also urged the Irrigation Department to ensure that canal water reaches the tail-end areas without delay so that farmers' paddy crops can be saved. He warned that if the situation does not improve soon, the Punjab Congress will launch statewide protests, including demonstrations outside power grids, irrigation department offices and other government establishments, and said the Punjab Government would be solely responsible for the consequences.