Officials said more than 1,500 telephone towers have been torn down in the northern Indian state of Punjab, where farmers have led an increasingly angry campaign against government agricultural reforms.

The action came as farmer's mark more than a month of protests on the central roads in the capital New Delhi against new farm laws passed in September.

Farmer leaders say the new laws will allow companies to takeover agri-business and now they have called for a boycott of groups such as Reliance, which owns telecom towers, and Adani - a big agri-business player - these are the two big firms that would be profited from the new laws.

They also fear that the government will gradually withdraw the minimum support price - the price at which the government buys their agricultural produce.

However, farm union leaders have denied any role in the action against the state of Punjab, India's agricultural sector and telecom towers, known as the "grain bowl of India".

Officials said the power supply and fiber cables were cut off in the towers, while some had their generators stolen.

A source close to Reliance's mobile phone venture Jio said that vandalism was carried out with over 1,400 towers till Sunday. A telecom industry official said that at least more than 150 were damaged on Monday.

The video showing Jio employees chasing them from towers has been widely shared on social media.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's office said that more than 1,500 communication towers were damaged or their power supply was shut down in the last few days.

Singh said in the statement, "The use of violence can dissuade protesters from the public, which would be detrimental to the interests of the farming community."

Boycott

Reliance, owned by Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest man, has not commented on the vandalism. But mobile phone services have been affected in Punjab with 9,000 towers in all.

The protesters have also blocked one of Punjab's largest cooking oil depots owned by Adani subsidiary Fortune in Amritsar city of Punjab.

On Monday, Davinder Singh, a farmer who took part in the protests in Amritsar, told news agency AFP that the call for a boycott is being followed rapidly.

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“We are with our farmer brothers who are protesting on the borders of Delhi. We appeal to the people to boycott Jio and Adani." stated Singh

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"People have heard us. Many people have cut off their Jio connections, ” Singh continued.

Farmers have taken over several miles of roads leading to New Delhi, demanding that the government repeal the new laws, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government says that they aim for moribund due to low productivity Investment in agriculture is to be brought.

The government says the new changes, which will allow farmers to sell produce in free markets, will help boost agricultural income in an area whose contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) is gradually decreasing.

India's agricultural sector employs more than half of India's 1.4 billion people but contributes only 15 percent to the country's 2.7 trillion economy. The region is facing a crisis, due to which thousands of debt-ridden farmers are taking their lives.

The farmers say that the three agricultural laws passed by the right-wing Modi government will harm their livelihood and only big corporations will benefit.

A new round of talks will be held between union leaders and the government on Wednesday. But the protesters have promised to take action if there is no success.