Farmers Cut Power Supply Of 1,300 Jio Towers

Agitating groups, according to sources, have cut off power supply of around 1,300 mobile towers of Jio in the state. There are around 9,000 towers of Jio in Punjab.

Disrupting mobile and internet services of the company and causing inconvenience to the consumers, agitating farmers and supporting groups in Punjab have targeted the telecom towers of Reliance Jio in the state, Financial Express reported.

Agitating groups, according to sources, have cut off power supply of around 1,300 mobile towers of Jio in the state. There are around 9,000 towers of Jio in Punjab. For some towers, the fibre has been cut by such groups, as per FE report.

According to the report, industry sources said that if the farmers want to boycott product and do not buy Jio SIMs or give up their existing Jio connections, it is fine as a sign of peaceful protest but bringing destruction to assets of the company cannot be seen as a sign of peaceful protest.

According to a PTI report on December 25, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh also appealed to the farmer groups to not inconvenience the general public with such actions. Mr Singh urged them to exercise the same restraint that they had been showing over the past several months and said that telecom connectivity had become even more critical for people amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Forceful disruption of telecom services due to snapping of power supply to mobile towers by farmers in several parts of the state is 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,” the Punjab CM said.

“Further, the disruption of telecom services would also seriously affect the state’s already disturbed economy,” he added.