September 4th 2023.
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Department of Energy is facing a tough challenge to keep up with the high electricity demand across the state, which has been caused by the deficient rainfall. Despite their best efforts to get electricity from other parts of the state, the desired result is still not being achieved.
The farmers are distressed as the power supply for irrigation has been reduced from ten hours to seven hours. This has made it difficult for them to protect their kharif crops such as soybean and paddy from wilting.
"On September 3, the electricity demand rose to a historical level of 15,000 megawatt. On Saturday, the power demand was 14,000 megawatt. We have never seen such an increased power demand in the month of September," said a senior officer of the department to Free Press.
The availability of electricity in the state is 14,300 megawatt, which shows that there is a difference of around 600 mw to 700 mw in electricity demand and supply. Attempts to get electricity from other states have been futile since they too have very little excess power to share.
This year marks the first time in 122 years that rainfall in the country has plummeted to 33 per cent below the seasonal average. The department is now desperately hoping for rain in any part of the state, as this could bring down the electricity demand. There is a possibility of rain in the eastern regions of the state in the coming days. If the rain continues to evade, then the situation will become much worse.
The farmers are hardly getting three to four hours of regular power supply, which has caused them to worry about how to save their crops in the drought-like conditions. They are dependent on tube wells, wells, and rivers, but the power cuts have made it even more difficult for them.
Narayan Singh Raghuvansi, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh Vidisha district president, said, “The situation is very bad as far as Kharif crops are concerned. They are on the verge of withering due to a long gap in the rainfall activities. Government has also cut down power supply from ten to seven hours and that too is not regular, the farmers are hardly getting three to four hours power supply. The farmers are in a bind and are helplessly looking at their withering crops. We have given a memorandum at tehsil level across Vidisha over the electricity crisis.”
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