Farmers in Karnataka claim that they are struggling to save their crops as they are unable to irrigate their crops due to erratic power supply, reprots Deccan Herald.
The majority of the 44,000 water pump sets in the state face limitations in providing complete irrigation coverage for crops. This issue becomes even more critical when considering the state’s context of experiencing a deficit in rainfall. Farmers express concern that these intermittent disruptions could potentially lead to crop failures on a large scale. Presently, 113 taluks across 29 districts are grappling with severe moisture stress, as indicated by the revenue department.
As per news report published in Deccan Herald, Mahadevaswamy H Mukkali, farmer hailing from Chamarajanagar district said, “Although we are allocated a minimum of seven hours of electricity for pumps operation, the actual supply we receive is limited to three or four hours. This has affected the cane crops we have cultivated in our field,” he said.
The Managing Director of a distribution company (DISCOM) in the state clarifies that the reduction in power supply hours from the usual seven hours occurs solely during periods of shortage. He explains, “In instances of physical disruptions in the power lines, supply can be interrupted for over two hours.”
At the state level, there was no deficit in electricity supply since power is procured when there is a shortfall, says Pankaj Kumar Pandey, managing director of Karnataka Power Corporation Limited.
He emphasizes that variations in power sourcing at the district level could lead to localized interruptions. As far as possible, we are providing electricity for 7 hours.
