<p class="bodytext">With the power crisis looming large, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has directed the officials to ensure that the farmers across the state get at least five hours of uninterrupted power supply every day. He also ruled out any speculations of load shedding in the state.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Considering that it might be difficult to manage the load, given that the demand has shot up, the chief minister suggested that the power supply can be provided in three shifts. “While every farmer will get five hours of uninterrupted power supply, not everyone will get at the same time. CM instructed us to follow staggered timings and the Escoms will soon prepare a feeder-wise time chart,” a senior official from the energy department said. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah said that the government was finding it difficult to provide seven hours of power supply to farmers, hinting that the duration could be cut down. Many farmers across the state have been up in arms against the government alleging that the poor monsoon coupled with a lack of power supply was damaging the crops. There are close to 32 lakh irrigation pump sets across the state. </p>.Govt in talks with other states to purchase power: Karnataka Energy Minister KJ George.<p class="bodytext">While the chief engineers will be appointed as nodal officers to every district to ensure power supply to farmers is not affected, the chief minister also directed the officials to form committees under the chairmanship of district in-charge ministers to oversee the situation. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Siddaramaiah, who chaired a review meeting with the officials from the energy department, questioned them as to why there was no contingency plan in place. According to sources, CM is said to have pointed out the various protests held by farmers and told the officials that last-minute preparations will not help solve the problem. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The officials, however, said that they had chalked out measures to ease the situation. Power swapping plans with Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, invoking Section 11 of the Electricity Act 2003, import of coal with high calorific value, and improving bagasse-based cogeneration are among the few measures put in place. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Energy Minister K J George blamed the BJP for the power crisis the state was witnessing. They alleged that the BJP government had failed to improve the state’s power generation capacity and the infrastructure. “There has been absolutely no improvement in the last four years. This year owing to the drought, the demand is high and we are trying our best to augment the resources,” George said. </p>
<p class="bodytext">With the power crisis looming large, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has directed the officials to ensure that the farmers across the state get at least five hours of uninterrupted power supply every day. He also ruled out any speculations of load shedding in the state.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Considering that it might be difficult to manage the load, given that the demand has shot up, the chief minister suggested that the power supply can be provided in three shifts. “While every farmer will get five hours of uninterrupted power supply, not everyone will get at the same time. CM instructed us to follow staggered timings and the Escoms will soon prepare a feeder-wise time chart,” a senior official from the energy department said. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah said that the government was finding it difficult to provide seven hours of power supply to farmers, hinting that the duration could be cut down. Many farmers across the state have been up in arms against the government alleging that the poor monsoon coupled with a lack of power supply was damaging the crops. There are close to 32 lakh irrigation pump sets across the state. </p>.Govt in talks with other states to purchase power: Karnataka Energy Minister KJ George.<p class="bodytext">While the chief engineers will be appointed as nodal officers to every district to ensure power supply to farmers is not affected, the chief minister also directed the officials to form committees under the chairmanship of district in-charge ministers to oversee the situation. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Siddaramaiah, who chaired a review meeting with the officials from the energy department, questioned them as to why there was no contingency plan in place. According to sources, CM is said to have pointed out the various protests held by farmers and told the officials that last-minute preparations will not help solve the problem. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The officials, however, said that they had chalked out measures to ease the situation. Power swapping plans with Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, invoking Section 11 of the Electricity Act 2003, import of coal with high calorific value, and improving bagasse-based cogeneration are among the few measures put in place. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Energy Minister K J George blamed the BJP for the power crisis the state was witnessing. They alleged that the BJP government had failed to improve the state’s power generation capacity and the infrastructure. “There has been absolutely no improvement in the last four years. This year owing to the drought, the demand is high and we are trying our best to augment the resources,” George said. </p>