Jaysing Chavan

Archana Shukla

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“Just a few days ago, a Rusell Viper was near my foot, ready to attack. I saw it just in time,” says Dattatray Kasote, a farmer in the Shendur village of Kolhapur district in Maharashtra. He was working on irrigating his farm at night when the feared reptile appeared.For farmers like Kasote, running irrigation pumps at night has become a way of life in Karvir and Kagal talukas where electricity supply is intermittent, unpredictable and unreliable.  There is no schedule for the power supply: it could either come in the night or sometimes during the day for varying lengths of time and sometimes the mandated eight-hour supply is cut short and the shortfall is not made up later. As a result, sugarcane crops, which need large amounts of water, do not get irrigated on time and are damaged. Farmers say they are helpless; they are dissuading their children from choosing farming as a livelihood. Young people are choosing to work at the nearby Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) for a salary of Rs. 7,000-8,000 a month.“In spite of putting in so much work and going through trouble, farming doesn’t give lucrative returns. It seems better to work in industries and get a good salary,” says Srikant Chavan, a young farmer from Karvir. A short film on the effects of power shortage on farmers and their livelihood in Kolhapur.

Lights out in Kolhapur’s farms

کولہاپور کے کھیتوں میں بجلی گل

కొల్హాపుర్ పొలాల్లో మలగిపోతున్న దీపాలు

மின்வெட்டால் அவதியுறும் கொல்ஹாப்பூர் விவசாயிகள்

ਹਨ੍ਹੇਰੇ 'ਚ ਡੁੱਬੇ ਕੋਲ੍ਹਾਪੁਰ ਦੇ ਖੇਤ

କୋହ୍ଲାପୁରର ଚାଷଜମିରେ ନିର୍ବାପିତ ଆଲୋକ

ഇരുൾ വീഴുന്ന കോലാപ്പുരിലെ കൃഷിയിടങ്ങൾ

ಕೊಲ್ಲಾಪುರದ ಹೊಲಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಳಗುವ ದೀಪಗಳು

कोल्हापुर: बिजली की समस्या ने किया किसानों का हाल-बेहाल

કોલ્હાપુરના ખેતરોમાં બત્તી ગુલ

कोल्हापुर मं किसान के बिजली गोल

कोल्हापुर में किसानन के बत्ती भइल गुल

আঁধারে নিমজ্জিত কোলাপুরের খেত-খামার

এন্ধাৰত বুৰ যোৱা ক’লহাপুৰৰ খেতিয়ক

Kagal

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Lights out in Kolhapur’s farms

In this region of Maharashtra, unreliable power supply has thrown farmers' lives into disarray. A short film

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