Authorities in Punjab are investigating whether protesting farmers were disrupting power supply to hundreds of telecom towers, a state official said on Monday, amid protests over new farm laws. We have told the police to track all those involved in sabotaging the infrastructure, a senior official in the Punjab state government told Reuters on condition of anonymity. A senior Punjab state police official said the power supply was disrupted to several telecom towers in the state, mainly ones owned by Jio, the telecommunications arm of Reliance Industries. A source close to Jio said more than 1,400 of its 9,000 plus towers were affected as power supplies and fibre to the towers were cut but could not confirm whether farmers were behind the damage.
Punjab looking into whether protesting farmers sabotaged telecom infrastructure
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Authorities in India s Punjab investigating whether protesting farmers sabotaged telecom infrastructure
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NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s major grain-growing state of Punjab on Monday asked police to crack down on farmers and sympathisers vandalising telecommunication masts as they intensify their weeks-long protests against farm deregulation.
Protesters have attacked hundreds of masts of companies such as oil-to-groceries conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd that they believe have profited from the farm reforms at their expense.
Tens of thousands of farmers are camping out on highways near New Delhi demanding a repeal of the new laws they fear will lead to corporate dominance of the farm sector and erode their incomes.
The office of Punjab’s chief minister said in a statement that more than 1,500 communication masts had been damaged or their power supply cut off in the past few days.