Farmers struggle to get tubewell connections

Parveen Arora

Karnal, June 8

Farmers of the district are facing significant challenges in obtaining tubewell connections due to the alleged indifference of officials of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and the negligence of contractors.

As per the farmers, electric poles, which are the responsibility of the contractors to deliver and install, are not being provided on time. As a result, the farmers have to transport these poles from locations 15-20 kilometers away from their fields.

Besides, the farmers are forced to hire private labour and tractors to dig holes and install the poles, incurring a cost of Rs 500-700 per pole. There is growing concern among the farmers that if their neighbouring farmers begin flooding their fields for paddy transplantation, their poles will not be installed on time, leading to further delays in obtaining power connections.

“I applied for a new connection and completed all formalities. I was told that the contractor will install the poles, along with the wiring and installation of the transformer. I have faced numerous difficulties in getting a power connection. I was asked to bring electric poles from a site in Ballah and a transformer from a yard nearly 20 kilometers away from my fields. I had to spend money and time to bring both poles and the transformer to my fields, even though it was the contractor’s duty,” said Malak Singh, a farmer. He urged the UHBVN to take cognisance of the issue.

Several other farmers share similar experiences. Inder Singh, another farmer, said he had to bring the poles and transformer himself, which proved to be a costly affair. Farmers also alleged that they have been instructed to hire private labour to dig holes for installing poles.

“We request the authorities to look into this matter as paddy transplantation is likely to start in a couple of days. If our neighbouring farmers start flooding the fields, we will not be able to install the electric poles in their fields, and we will have to wait until the paddy is harvested, for the connection,” said a farmer on the condition of anonymity.