Niphad farmers seek power supply for longer duration

Nashik: Farmers led by Niphad MLA Anil Kada thronged the district collectorate on Thursday, demanding power supply for about six hours so that they could lift water from wells for drinking purpose and for farming. Additional collector Kanhuraj Bagate assured them to look into the matter at the earliest.
The farmers in Niphad taluka, living along the banks of the Godavari, are vexed with the continuous power shut downs, or availability of power only for four hours.The district administration has announced shut downs to ensure that farmers did not lift water from the river for irrigation as it was to be used only for drinking purpose, given the drought situation in the district.
"There is water in the Godavari. We are not interested in pumping it out for our purpose. But the shut down does not allow us to run our water supply schemes adequately. Neither are we able to pump out enough water for our cattle or crops with the water in the wells," Ramesh Dusing, a farmer from Chehadi said.
"Three-phase power supply is available only for four hours. There are umpteen number of interruptions during that period, affecting the equipment," said Kailas Aware, another farmer.
Kadam said that the administration should take measures in the interest of the people. "What about the farmers who are away from the river. How could the power shut down to them be justified?" the MLA asked.
Additional collector Kanhuraj Bagate has in principle agreed to increase the duration of power supply. "The water meant for drinking purpose can in no way be allowed to be lifted. But, having understood the farmers' demand we are weighing options."
Bagate asked the state power distribution company to send a plan to ensure that the farmers, excluding those along the river, got power supply for six hours.
Officials from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company, however, expressed their inability to segregate the farmers. "In our network, it will be difficult for us to find out each consumer who lives along the river bank. Besides, the farmers are able to draw pipelines up to 3km perpendicular to the river," said R D Chavan, of the MSEDCL, Nashik urban.
The water resources department, meanwhile, said the water in River Godavari is meant only for drinking purpose. "After the rotation of water for the left and the right bank canals – meant for parts of Nashik, Ahmednagar and Aurangabad districts – there is still water in the riverbed and its percolation down can only help farmers nearby. Since the water cannot be lifted for irrigation, three-phase power should not be made available round the clock," a senior official said.