Cut in power supply to farm pumpsets leaves paddy farmers worried in Yadgir district

A majority of farmers irrigate their land with the help of irrigation pumpsets drawing water from the Krishna, the Bhima and other water sources, including streams, in Yadgir district.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

Power shortage has left paddy growers worried in Yadgir district. Due to interruption in power supply to farm pumpsets, farmers have been urging the State government to solve the problem ensuring at least five hours of uninterrupted power supply in the day time.

Farmers have sown paddy in 95,153 hectares across the district in the kharif season and a majority of them irrigate their land with the help of pumpsets drawing water from the Krishna, the Bhima and other water sources, including streams.

When the authorities concerned started reducing power supply to five hours from seven hours and with inconsistent supply at night, farmers started facing difficulties in watering standing paddy crop.

Meanwhile, a section of farmers in Kembhavi and Naikal in Shorapur and Shahapur taluks has demanded that the government supply at least five hours of uninterrupted power in the daytime, instead of at night, so that they are able to water their standing crops.

“The government should consider this problem seriously and ensure power supply to farm pumpsets to protect the interests of farmers,” a farmer in Naikal village Basavantharaya Gouda said.

And, while addressing farmers at Kembhavi on Tuesday, Minister for Small Scale Industries and district in-charge Sharanabasappa Darshnapur directed the officers of GESCOM to supply power for five hours in the daytime as the Chief Minister promised earlier.

“In view of shortage of rainfall in the monsoon, the government has declared two taluks out of the six in the district as severely drought-hit and the rest as moderately drought-hit. When such is the situation, GESCOM has reduced power supply and paddy crop has started withering,” another farmer Sharanagouda Malipatil said.