Akola: Barshi Takli power substation work stalled for a year, farmers suffer
A year-long delay in building a power substation in Akola's Barshi Takli taluka is leaving farmers without reliable electricity as the monsoon threatens their crops.
The 33/11 kV power substation being built by Mahavitaran near Pinjar in Mauje Jamkeshwar, Barshi Takli taluka of Akola district, has been progressing at a very slow pace for the past year and remains incomplete. The contractor had planned to finish the work by the end of September, but despite the deadline passing, the work is not done, causing anger among people in the area.
Once operational, the substation will help provide a proper power supply to eight villages -- Jamkeshwar, Dhakli, Sawarkhed, Titwa, Nihida, Bahirkhed, Umardari and Pimpalgaon Hande -- and is also expected to ease problems with farm pumps. With rain currently causing a gap in supply, farmers urgently need a regular power supply to save their crops. But frequent power cuts and recurring technical faults are damaging crops, pushing farmers into financial distress.
The stalled substation work has left surrounding villages with an ongoing power problem. Former sarpanch Pradeep Deshmukh said that if the substation is made operational soon, it will help resolve the major problem with farm pumps, and that the administration should get the work completed quickly.
Meanwhile, the work was expected to be completed by the end of September but remains unfinished. Social activist Vijay Thackeray also demanded that senior officials personally visit the site to review the work and get the project completed as soon as possible.
Because the substation work has stalled, the entire burden of power supply in the area is falling on the old infrastructure, which has also led to a rise in transformers burning out. Farmers and villagers are demanding that the concerned senior officials personally visit the site to check the quality of construction and direct the contractor to complete the remaining work immediately.
