The farmers of Bilashpur, Dava, Chhetaunki, Kurlupali and other villages under Jharbandh Block of Bargarh district located on the Chhatishgarh border have been farming with deep bore wells under the Biju Krushak Yojana. But their farming has been hit due to low voltage and frequent power cuts of late.
Former MLA and BJP Krushak Morcha State president Pradeep Purohit visited the affected farmers’ land on Sunday. He said that more than 80 per cent of the farmland had been destroyed and in the areas, farmers were forced to sell their paddy to Chhattishgarh at Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,300 per quintal. “But this time the farmers have borrowed lakhs of rupees from their societies to cultivate paddy depending on the deep bore wells.
In the Biju Krushak Yojana scheme, the farmers are given per month Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 as electricity bill where as in Chhatshgarh, farmers are charged far less of Rs 300 only per month,” said Purohit. He cautioned if the Energy Department did not repair the line immediately to sort out the low voltage and load shedding problems, the standing paddy crops would be damaged.
He demanded the State Government to reduce the cost of electricity for farming and set up a 24-hour helpline immediately. He also threatened of agitation by his party if the farmers’ problems were not sorted out soon.