Dark Days ahead: Cut, cut, cut!

Express News Service
First Published : 23 Oct 2008 06:12:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 23 Oct 2008 11:40:08 AM IST

HYDERABAD: Despite resorting to load shedding for two to six hours in towns and mandal headquarters, power supply situation is grim in coastal and Telangana regions.

Though rains in Nellore and Chittoor districts in the last two days have brought some relief to the power utilities, there is still a shortfall of 10 million units (MUs).

As against the demand of 195 MUs, the supply is 185 MUs, including purchase of 11 MUs, as on today. By the end of December, the demand is likely to go up further and touch 215 MUs by March, 2009.

Last year, the demand around the same time was 159 MUs. It has shot up by 20 per cent this year due to increase in groundwater table in upland areas where the farmers have been struggling to save their crops.

With elections round the corner, the State Government obviously does not want to invite the wrath of farmers and is going all out to keep its promise of seven-hour quality power supply to the agriculture sector.

And that means, more power cuts for domestic consumers. But even now farmers seem to be getting impatient. According to an ENS report from Warangal district, farmers in Appalraopet and Kondur have been agitating over inferior quality of power supply and even detained officials recently.

‘‘Though power is supplied for seven hours in two phases, I don’t know when it comes. I am sleeping in my fields to save my crops,’’ a farmer Bhukya Narsia of Appalraopet said.

The situation is no different in upland East Godavari district. Farmers in upland areas like Nuzvid, Vissannapeta, Tiruvur and G Kondur mandals believe supply in two spells is of no use. ‘‘Supplying power in two spells will be of no use as we will be watering the same crop in the second phase also,’’ a farmer Nageswara Rao of Nuzvid said.

With about a fortnight to go for the Kharif season to end in a majority of the districts, the power utilities have instructed their field staff to accord top priority to agriculture.

‘‘If needed, they have been directed to increase power cuts by an hour or two in rural areas,’’ Energy Minister Shabber Ali told Express. In the twin Godavari and three north coastal districts, the supply is 29 MUs as against the demand of 34 MUs and power cuts are imposed for two hours in the towns and six hours in villages every day.

Consumers may not be complaining as yet but they are a worried lot. ‘‘We will adjust to the situation now but what about the same till next July?’’ wondered TSRB Satyavathi, a government teacher in Visakhapatnam.

Traders fear that there would be more power cuts in the next few months, especially in the evenings and nights affecting their businesses.