Satej Patil criticises govt over forced load-shedding and disrupted power supply to farmers

Kolhapur: MLC Satej Patil, who is the leader of the opposition in the legislative council, on Monday criticised state govt over increasing load-shedding and erratic power supply affecting irrigation and farming, questioning the lack of preparedness despite advance warnings of water scarcity.Patil said farmers and cooperative water societies in Kolhapur and Sangli are facing severe hardship due to reduced and unreliable electricity supply, even as restrictions on water lifting have been extended.“In Jan, CM Devendra Fadnavis said that El Nino will have its effects on Maharashtra, and there will be water scarcity. Why couldn’t they have made a plan for electricity supply in the past four months? Govt should have told people not to take up cultivation last year itself. The way govt started Ladki Bahin Yojana, now they should start Ladka Shetkari Yojana, so that we can stop farming,” said Patil.He, along with farmers and cooperative water society members, met MSEDCL executive engineer Swapnil Katkar and submitted a memorandum of demands.Addressing reporters after the meeting, Patil said: “In Kolhapur and Sangli districts, a water-lifting ban has been imposed by the irrigation department. Earlier, it used to be for two-three days, and now it has been increased to four days. The MSEDCL officials are claiming that 2,000MW of electricity generation has been reduced as water in the Koyna dam has been depleted. Was govt sleeping for the past four months?” he said.Patil alleged that unplanned policies and failure to ensure mandated power supply are hitting farmers hard, with electricity hours falling short and supply remaining erratic.“They said they would give eight hours of electricity, but now it has dropped to six hours. No continuous electricity supply takes place. As per the law, they should increase the supply if there are disruptions in the power supply. This MSEDCL circle won an award for electricity dues recovery; now they will receive an award for no recovery of electricity dues. If a continuous power supply is not received, we will all have to make a decision to not pay our electricity dues,” added Patil.Among the key demands submitted were 12 hours of uninterrupted power supply with adequate voltage, inclusion of cooperative water supply societies under the free electricity scheme for agricultural pumps up to 7.5 HP, and withdrawal of the mandatory installation of smart meters.