Farmers stage indefinite protest over electricity issues

Vijayapura Members of the Raita Bharata Party staged an indefinite protest at the HESCOM divisional office in Vijayapura, demanding early resolution of various electricity-related problems affecting farmers and the public. The protesters took out a padyatra from Siddeshwara Temple to the HESCOM office and submitted a memorandum to the Managing Director through the Executive Engineer. They warned that the agitation would continue until senior HESCOM officials visited the spot and addressed their demands. The party demanded immediate electricity connections to houses, farmhouses and other premises where applications had been submitted. It also sought underground cable connections in Vijayapura city and uninterrupted power supply to residential and licensed commercial establishments. The protesters demanded relocation of the HESCOM Rural Sub-Division office at Shivagiri to its original premises, alleging inconvenience to farmers and residents. They urged the government to extend the Gruha Jyoti scheme to connections obtained after December 11, 2024, and revise the average electricity consumption calculation. They also demanded that pump-set penalty charges be waived, transformer charges reduced from ₹10,500 to ₹3,100 and inadequate power supply to farmers stopped. Other demands included timely refunds of fees collected for pending electricity works, settlement of contractors' bills, prompt payment of employees' medical claims and leave encashment, and digitisation of officials' signatures. Several party leaders, including Ismail Sutar, Shivu Uppaladinni, Harun Sheikh and Salahuddin Maniyar, participated in the protest.