Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday visited Mehna village in the Lambi Assembly segment of Muktsar district to assess the impact of inadequate power supply for agricultural tubewells. He criticised the state government for the ongoing power crisis.Sukhbir said farmers were facing severe hardship because of prolonged power cuts. He claimed the previous SAD government had made Punjab a power-surplus state 15 years ago and accused the present government of failing to address farmers’ concerns.“There is a need to install new thermal, biomass and solar power plants to generate more electricity and meet the demand. If the AAP remains in power, the situation will only worsen,” he said.Meanwhile, farmers continued their protests against inadequate electricity supply for operating tubewells during the paddy season. Protesting farmers in Muktsar, Barnala and several other parts of the state demanded uninterrupted eight-hour free power supply for irrigation.