‘Powerless’ farmers seethe in anger

Take to streets to protest erratic power supply that has led to their crops withering away. It is over a month now that farmers have been protesting the short supply of power. Protests have come mostly from Bhainsa, Dilawarpur, Nirmal, Kuntala, Sarangapur, Laxmanchanda, Mamda, Kadem and Khanapur mandals.

Farmers took to streets in several parts of Telangana on Tuesday protesting severe power cuts and failure of the officials to ensure quality power.

They are a worried lot with their standing crops on verge of withering away as the erratic power supply was taking a heavy toll. Reports from Adilabad, Warangal, Karimnagar, Medak, Nalgonda and Khammam said that farmers came on to the roads and protested the cuts.

Nirmal Revenue Division in Adilabad district is the hardest hit due to severe power shortage as it has a large area under paddy cultivation. The power cuts have put farmers on tenterhooks and no day passes without them staging protests near the electricity sub-stations.

On Tuesday, the ryots staged protests at four different places demanding improvement in power supply to save their crops, which are nearing the harvesting stage. Farmers of Palsi in Bhainsa mandal and Khanapur mandal headquarter village gheraoed sub-stations at respective places on Tuesday, while farmers from Dandepalli and Luxettipet staged rasta rokos on the Jannaram-Luxettipet road and Utnoor cross roads respectively.

It is over a month now that farmers have been protesting the short supply of power. Protests have come mostly from Bhainsa, Dilawarpur, Nirmal, Kuntala, Sarangapur, Laxmanchanda, Mamda, Kadem and Khanapur mandals.

The farming community is agitated over the fact that the four-hour supply for agriculture sector is also besotted with problems. The situation is no different in Medak district where protests were reported. The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) held a day-long protest before the Superintendent Office in the district headquarters on Monday demanding power supply to save the crops. The Telangana Rytu Rakshana Samithi (TRRS) has also held a protest with the same demand before the Collectorate. Both these agitations were supported by the district unit of the TDP.

In Karimnagar, farmers staged a massive dharna and a rasta roko in Jammikunta town under the aegis of the Congress. They also set fire to an effigy of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao protesting the erratic power supply. In Mustabad mandal headquarters, farmers demanded that the government fulfil its promise.

A Khammam report said farmers from Enkur mandal laid siege to the electricity sub-station. Farmers, mainly comprising paddy and cotton growers from across the mandal, took part in the dharna organised by the farmers’ wings of various opposition parties, including the Left parties.

The protesters squatted on the main road in front of the sub-station for nearly an hour. They demanded that the government should procure electricity from other States to ensure assured power supply to the agriculture sector to save the standing kharif crops.

In Warangal district, farmers held rasta rokos at Illanda and Nandanam villages in Wardhannapet mandal and at Md Ghousepalli in Mulug mandal.