About 2, 020 farmers died due to electricity shocks between 2005 and 2012 in 11 districts of the State, according to information provided by AP Transco under RTI Act.
Replying to a series of RTI queries filed by activists D. Rakesh Reddy and K. Dileep, Transco provided figures of farmer deaths for 11 districts, five from Telangana and six from Seemandhra. Among the districts, Nizamabad had the dubious distinction of having the largest number of farmer deaths at 400 due to the electricity shocks.
Warangal recorded 254 farmer deaths, Khammam with 243 deaths and Karimnagar had 231 deaths. Nellore district recorded the lowest number of farmer deaths in this category with 42 while Kadapa and Guntur districts registered 116 and 117 farmer deaths respectively within the span of six years.
Analysing the data, RTI applicant Rakesh Reddy claimed that the electric shock deaths and availability of canal irrigation are interlinked. “Electricity consumption in Telangana is higher due to lack of irrigation canals. In such districts, human cost is more. It is due to bad quality of power and erratic power, which is supplied mostly at nights. The fact is amply proven from the figures that the regions with relatively better canal irrigation have lesser farmer deaths.”
Mr. Rakesh demanded that wherever feasible and possible, canal irrigation should be promoted so as to minimise such incidents. He also said that new governments should concentrate on providing quality power supply to the farmers at systematic timings.
Courtesy: The Hindu