Haryana: Sirsa tower protest puts Saini government’s Punjab pitch under fresh scrutiny

The Nayab Singh Saini-led Haryana government is facing renewed political scrutiny after nine farmers climbed a high-voltage electricity transmission tower in Sirsa on Wednesday, dramatically escalating their protest over compensation for land acquired for power infrastructure a day after talks with the administration failed to break the deadlock.

The protest took place in Vaidewala village, where members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni), including a differently-abled farmer, climbed the transmission tower carrying cots, bedding and food supplies. The protesters declared they would remain atop the structure until the government accepted their demand for enhanced compensation on the lines of payments made to affected farmers in several other districts of Haryana.

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The latest agitation comes after a meeting between farmer organisations and the district administration on Tuesday ended without any agreement. Farmer leaders alleged that while the state government had assured uniform compensation, several affected landowners in Sirsa were either yet to receive compensation or had been paid significantly lower amounts, prompting them to intensify their protest.

The standoff began when BKU (Charuni) Sirsa district president Bhupinder Singh, on whose farmland three high-tension transmission towers have been erected, allegedly objected to work being carried out by the power utility. According to the farmers, he was prevented from entering his own field by officials, following which he climbed the transmission tower. Soon afterwards, eight more farmers joined him, turning the protest into a high-profile demonstration.

Police personnel immediately cordoned off the area while senior officers from the district administration and the power utility reached the site to persuade the protesters to end the agitation. However, the farmers refused to come down, insisting that they would continue the protest until the compensation issue was resolved.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) president Gurnam Singh Charuni backed the protesters through a live social media broadcast, urging them not to take any extreme step while assuring them that he was travelling to Sirsa. Later, he met the Sub-Divisional Magistrate and the Deputy Superintendent of Police to discuss the issue and seek a resolution.

The situation briefly turned tense when a farmer allegedly slapped a power utility worker carrying equipment in the presence of officials, triggering a commotion before police intervened and restored order. Security around the transmission tower was subsequently tightened to prevent more protesters from climbing the structure.

Power utility officials maintained that the transmission line is part of a project connecting Hukmawali and Chormor to the 220 KV Sirsa power station through a double-circuit network aimed at strengthening the electricity grid and ensuring uninterrupted supply during emergencies. Officials said the project is essential as the existing transmission network is dependent on a single line that is vulnerable to disruptions caused by bad weather and overloading.

The protest has assumed political significance as it comes at a time when the BJP has frequently projected the Haryana government’s governance model, including its approach towards farmers, during its political outreach in neighbouring Punjab. The images of farmers occupying a power transmission tower after compensation talks failed are likely to provide opposition parties with fresh ammunition to question the government’s claims on farmer welfare.

With the compensation dispute remaining unresolved despite negotiations and the agitation intensifying on the ground, the Sirsa episode is expected to resonate beyond Haryana, particularly in Punjab, where political parties are likely to invoke the protest while challenging the BJP’s narrative on governance and its outreach to the farming community ahead of future electoral battles.