Karnal farmers decry inadequate power for paddy

KARNAL: Paddy growers in the region are complaining of inadequate and erratic power supply and allege that supply to the farm sector has reduced to six to seven hours per day only.

They said that as per the government’s order, the transplantation of paddy officially began on June 15, but nothing has been done to improve the power supply. Farmers said they were being forced to use generators to irrigate the fields which adds to their cost of cultivation.

“The supply of electricity to agriculture sector is insufficient and unscheduled. We need uninterrupted power supply of more than 10 hours to prepare fields for transplantation,” said farmer Prem Chand of Yamunanagar district. “We have to spend more on diesel pumps as we cannot delay the transplantation because the nursery is ready,” said another farmers Praveen Kumar of Karnal.

Officials in the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam said the matter was already being taken up with higher authorities and soon a new schedule will be announced to ensure eight-hour uninterrupted power supply to farm sector.

Bhartiya Kisan Union state president Ratan Mann said, “The farmers are facing problem due to erratic power supply as the government has not fixed the schedule and the government should have announced the schedule by fixing the electricity supply at least for 12 hours a day.”