Farmers protest power shortage near Revanth Reddy’s native village
Farmers in Polkampally near Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s native village of Kondareddypally protested over inadequate power supply. They alleged they were receiving only nine to 10 hours of electricity, affecting borewell irrigation, delaying farm work and threatening crops.
Mahabubnagar: Farmers in Polkampally village, adjacent to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s native village of Kondareddypally, staged a protest at an electrical sub-station on Sunday over insufficient power supply.
Interestingly, the Chief Minister had asked the farming community at Sangareddy on Saturday whether there had been any disruption or insufficient power supply since the Congress government assumed office in the State.
In contrast to the Chief Minister’s claims, farmers in Polkampally staged a protest over electricity issues. They alleged that they were not receiving the 24-hour power supply claimed by officials and said they were getting barely nine to 10 hours of supply.
On Friday, farmers in Marcherla had also staged a protest over insufficient power supply.
Farmers in Polkampally, Kondareddypally and neighbouring areas extensively cultivate paddy and cotton. A majority of them depend on borewells for irrigation.
However, farmers said their agricultural borewells were non-functional due to the lack of electricity. They expressed concern that crops could wither due to insufficient water caused by the poor power supply.
They said the shortage of water was delaying land preparation and seedling plantation, besides increasing farm labour expenditure.
Irked over the alleged official apathy, farmers, villagers and leaders of different political parties staged a protest in front of the Polkampally electrical sub-station in Vangoor mandal.
They demanded that officials immediately resolve the electricity issue and provide 24-hour quality power supply to the farming community. They also warned of large-scale protests if the issue was not resolved at the earliest.
