KHAMMAM: Farmers staged a protest against frequent power cuts at Kandukur in Vemsur mandal of Sathupalli Assembly constituency in Khammam district on Saturday. A large number of farmers from Kandukur, Diddapudi, Bharanipadu and Lachannagudem villages took out a protest rally and later besieged the power sub-station.
The farmers expressed anger over the Congress government’s failure to provide uninterrupted power supply to the agriculture sector despite its promise of 24-hour free power. They said they were struggling to get even seven hours of uninterrupted supply and were unable to predict when power would be supplied or disconnected.
Former Sathupalli MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah extended his solidarity with the protesting farmers. Speaking on the occasion, he said former undivided Andhra Pradesh chief minister’s remarks that people would have to dry clothes on electricity wires if Telangana was formed had been taken up as a challenge by K Chandrashekar Rao, who subsequently provided 24-hour free power to farmers in Telangana.
He said the credit for transforming agriculture from a burden into a celebration and instilling confidence among farmers went to KCR. Questioning the reintroduction of power cuts in the state, Veeraiah alleged that the government’s failure to make advance plans to meet farmers’ electricity requirements was responsible for the situation. He demanded that the government procure power from other states, if necessary, to ensure uninterrupted power supply.