OKARA: Scores of farmers on Monday staged a demonstration here demanding relief promised in payment of electricity bills of tube-wells.

On the call of the Pakistan Kisaan Ittehad (PKI) (Khalid Mehmood Khokhar group), scores of farmers from across the district gathered in the Jinnah Park.

Delivering speeches on the occasion, the PKI central senior vice president Mian Ghulam Wattoo, district senior vice president Malik Muhammad Yaseen, Rai Muhammad Munir Kavera and Q ari Mazhar Farid Sayal said that they had held a number of meetings with the PML-N governments in centre and Punjab.

They said the previous government had pledged that the tube well bills would be corrected and the extra units included in the power meters would be withdrawn.

The PML-N government had also promised that theoutstanding bills amount would be recovered from farmers in installments but the distribution companies did not fulfill the promise.

They deplored that contrary to the government`s commitment, the distribution companies had started sending the outstanding amount up to Rs20,000 in the current bills. They complained that nobody was paying attention to the farmers` demand that had already been accepted.

The farmers also chanted slogans against the district administration for condoning overcharging by cold store owners in violation of a decision of the Lahore High Court.

They alleged that in connivance with the administration, the cold store owners were charging Rs500 per bag instead of Rs350.

The farmers warned if their demands were not met, they would stage protests all over the province. Later they dispersed peacefully.