Farmers in the western part of Wai taluka are reporting repeated power cuts during the scheduled eight-hour electricity supply window for agricultural pumps, disrupting irrigation as drought-like conditions intensify. According to a report by Sakal, electricity is being interrupted 20 to 25 times during the supply period, with outages occurring every 15 to 20 minutes in some areas.
The interruptions are making it difficult for farmers to operate irrigation pumps and provide sufficient water to standing crops. The situation has become more urgent after unseasonal rain failed to materialise, leaving farmers trying to protect crops that are nearing harvest, the report said.
The affected farmers have questioned the effectiveness of free electricity supplied to agricultural consumers when the scheduled power is not available continuously. They have demanded that Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited, or Mahavitaran, stop the repeated interruptions and provide the planned eight hours of uninterrupted supply to agricultural pumps.
The disruption is being reported from the western part of Wai taluka, including the area around Vyahali. Farmers say the repeated trips are affecting the operation of pumps even though electricity is technically available for eight hours. For irrigation-dependent farms, this turns the duration of the official supply window into a less reliable measure of actual water access.
Swapnil Gaikwad, a Panchayat Samiti member from Wai, said the interruptions were adding to farmers’ difficulties during drought-like conditions. He questioned how farmers could keep crops alive if electricity continued to fail despite an eight-hour supply schedule. Gaikwad warned that a large group of farmers from Wai taluka could march to the Mahavitaran office if the issue was not resolved urgently.
Mahavitaran has attributed the disruption to a rise in electricity demand after the canal system linked to Dhom Dam was opened. Sagar Magdum, a branch engineer with Mahavitaran in Vyahali, said the increased demand had placed an additional load on the electricity supply system. He said the supply was expected to improve over the next few days and that efforts were under way to provide farmers with electricity more reliably.
The episode highlights the operational gap between a scheduled agricultural power supply and the uninterrupted electricity required to run irrigation pumps. In the affected villages, the immediate issue is not only the number of hours assigned for supply but also the repeated interruptions within that window. Mahavitaran’s proposed stabilisation over the coming days will determine whether farmers receive the continuous power they have requested.
