Karnataka Farmers Take Crocodile to Electric Supply Office in Protest Against Power Cuts | WATCH

In a quirky incident, farmers in Karnataka’s Vijayapura took a crocodile to the Hubli Electricity Supply Company’s (HESCOM) government office to protest against irregular power cuts that disturb their agricultural activities.

The insufficient electricity supply during day time put the farmers at the risk of facing wild animals and snakes when they went to their farms at night time and this unprecedented risk irritated them.

Last week, a farmer who had gone to water his farm, spotted an alligator in the agricultural field when power supply was restored later that night.

According to the villagers, the crocodile had come from the nearby Krishna river in search of a prey.

The farmer then quickly called his fellow villagers and tied the alligator with their help. The farmers on October 19, took it to the HESCOM office to “demonstrate” the danger posed to them.

Video of the farmers holding the crocodile with ropes outside the HESCOM office surfaced on the internet. Here:

The “unusual guest” outside the office mortified the HESCOM officials, who then called the forest and police officials to take the alligator away. The electrical supply company’s officials then assured the villagers, ensuring them that there will not be any power cuts during day-time.

The crocodile, which was picked up by the forest officials, was later left in the Almatti Damn, from where the reptile is believed to have lost its way into the field.

Scarce rainfall has distorted agricultural activities this year, officials from the Irrigation Department said, adding that, due to this there is insufficient water in the dams, which made it difficult to release water for irrigation purposes.

Because of water shortage, farmers are dependent on borewells and the excessive consumption of power caused by this has ultimately created a power scarcity.

Recently, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah had said there was a power shortage in Karnataka due to sharp increase in demand and consumption.

The power consumption in October used to be around 10,000 MW, but that has now shot up to 16,000 MW in the state. This is because electricity consumption for agricultural purposes has also increased.

Last month, farmers from both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka who are agitating against each other’s states in the Cauvery water row, turned the protests into a competition to take over each other in creative demonstrations.

In Tamil Nadu, farmers from Tiruchirappalli and the Cauvery basin protested against Karnataka by placing dead rats in their mouths. They conveyed that their fat would be similar to those rats if Karnataka did not release the allocated quantity of water necessary to save the ‘kuruvai’ crop cultivation in Tamil Nadu.

(With PTI inputs)