Farmers in Karnataka protest the electricity crisis by traveling to the power station with crocodiles.
Farmers in Karnataka brought a crocodile to a nearby power plant in the Vijayapura area as a one-of-a-kind protest against the electrical shortage.
On October 19, a group of farmers showed up to the Hubli Electricity Supply Company Limited (HESCOM) headquarters with a crocodile on a tractor’s trolley, according to reports.
Farmers allegedly questioned HESCOM representatives what they would do if a person died at night after being bitten by a snake, scorpion, or crocodile.
Farmers demanded on constant three-phase power throughout the day to keep their crops from wilting when they presented the crocodile to the authorities. Later, the crocodile was saved by forest authorities, who released it in the Almatti River.
Siddaramaiah, the chief minister of Karnataka, said last week that the state’s consumption increased as a result of this year’s drought from 10,000 MW to 16,000 MW in October.
Not just in Karnataka but also in the neighboring, upcoming-election Telangana, the electricity shortfall in Karnataka has become a political hot potato. Both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular) have been holding demonstrations against the load shedding that the government has enforced and that is hurting the farmers. On the other side, K Kavitha, the leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party, is also utilizing the circumstance to criticize the Congress in Telangana.
The amount of energy used in October has increased to 16,000 MW from the customary 10,000 MW. According to the Chief Minister, there has been a 6,000 MW rise in electricity demand.
Recognizing that the state was experiencing an electrical problem, the CM said that lately he met with authorities and gave them the order to provide the farmers with a three-phase power connection for five hours nonstop.
According to Siddaramaiah, he has ordered the authorities to collect electricity from outside the State whenever it is available and from cogeneration in the state’s sugar plants as well. He said that every attempt is being made to prevent load shedding for our farmers.
