Farmers in 17 districts under the jurisdiction of Nothern Power Distribution Company Limited (NPDCL) have been asked to remove the automatic starters fitted to their irrigation pump sets and bore wells. Distribution Company Chairman and Managing Director A. Gopal Rao in a statement said that the State Government had decided to provide 24-hour power supply to farms from this Rabi season.
The technical study under way had noticed that heavy demand for power increased due to use of automatic starters. The use of automatic starters may increase the burden on motors and transformers resulting in technical difficulties.
Mr. Rao said that using automatic starters fitted to bore wells/pump sets by farmers, fields will be watered heavily and unnecessarily besides that due to continuous running motors will be damaged and groundwater level may drop. The yield of crop will also be affected and soil fertility would be lost due to continuous flow of water to the fields. In order to overcome this situation, farmers need to remove automatic starters, he said. The farmers should cooperate with the NPDCL, he said.