Madhugiri farmers seek 3-phase power for eight hours

The farmers, joined by the office-bearers of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene, staged a protest in front of Bescom office in the town on Wednesday, demanding 3-phase power supply for eight hours for the pumpsets.

The agitating farmers condemned the power cuts on Tuesdays.

Most of the agriculture land in the taluk is dry land. They are dependent on borewells. The waterbodies in the taluk have gone bone dry and the water table in the region has dipped to an all-time low. Major crops of the region like groundnut, ragi, maize, areca and coconut are wilting due to lack of water. In such scenario, the Bescom is not  supplying 3-phase power even for four hours. How can the farmers save their crops, the agitators complained.

The government is providing uninterrupted power supply to the urban areas while the power supply to the rural areas is inadequate and irregular. By doing so, it is cheating the farmers.

Energy Minister D K Shivakumar has said that 10,500 MW power is being generated in the state while the actual demand for power in the state is 9,000 MW. The remaining 1,500 MW is being sold. If that is the case, why the government is not providing 3-phase power supply for 8 hours in rural areas, the protesters questioned.

They demanded that the Bescom officials should replace the transformer if it is burnt in 24 hours and provide additional TCs which can be used in case of power overload.
They also sought to lay power lines for those who have paid fee under Akrama-Sakrama scheme.

The agitating farmers further sought the Bescom authorities to expedite the works on 66/11 substation at Puravara hobli centre.

Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene district president A Govindaraju, leaders G C Shankrappa, Doddamalaiah, Vekateshgowda, D R Rajashekar, Shivakumar, Nagaratnamma and others were present.