WARANGAL: Acute power shortage is spreading panic among farmers in the North Telangana region as rabi crop is at the risk of drying up. The five districts of Warangal, Karimnagar, Khammam, Nizamabad and Adilabad are getting three to four hours of power supply per day and the Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (NPDCL) is not giving the assured seven hours of power to the farm sector. Officials are unable to close the gap between demand and supply. There is a shortage of more than 5 million units (mu) per day.In Warangal district, the demand is 8.36 mu per day, while the power available is 7.2 mu, as of February 29. There are 9.1 lakh agricultural pump sets under northern discom, of which Karimnagar district accounts for 2,66,992 pump sets, followed by Warangal with 2,45,820.In the kariff season, due to scanty rainfall, water table depleted and bore wells dried up. In rabi, the extent of cultivation fell to 1,56,607 hectares against 2,50,000 hectares. Paddy is cultivated in 64,242 ha, maize 25,019 ha, jowar 7,417 ha, blackgram 7,783, groundnut 27,219 and chilli in 12,000 hectares.Pump sets remain the main irrigation source a for majority of the crops in the region. “While seven hours power is assured, we are not getting even three hours of power,” says P Venkat Reddy of Zafargarh mandal.Farmers are a worried lot as power supply is erratic at Station Ghanpur, Vardannapeta, Rayaparthi, Thorrur, Mahbubabad, Pakakurthy and Maripeda mandals. “Motors were burnt twice in my field due to voltage fluctuations,” says R Kanakaiah of Sivunipalli village of Station Ghanpur mandal.
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