NAVALGAH (Ranga Reddy district): Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has ruled out nine-hour power supply to the agriculture sector and said farmers would have to do with seven hours until the harvest next month.

He made the point in the course of a gram sabha held under a huge banyan tree at a tribal hamlet of this interior village in Basheerabad mandal on Sunday. A tribal took to Dr. Reddy's notice that farmers faced problems on the power front but the Government did precious little to solve them.

Though the Government promised supply of power for seven hours, the farmers were actually getting it for three hours only to wet their crops.

He wanted nine-hour supply but Dr. Reddy shot down the demand.Later, launching the fortnight-long Praja Patham programme of the Government aimed at contacting people in villages to redress their problems, Dr. Reddy told a public meeting that the Government would ensure seven-hour power to the agriculture sector at any cost, to save the standing crop.

It would be done even if it meant imposing cut on the domestic sector in villages, cities and towns. The Government would not allow even a single acre of crop to dry up for want of power.

He recalled that the Government had purchased power for Rs. 5 crore a day last year to supply to farmers.

The Chief Minister appealed to farmers to fix capacitors to their pumpsets and said they would not cost more than Rs. 250 to 300 and, on the other hand, repairs to pumpsets involved an expenditure of Rs. 2,000 to 3,000.

Dr. Reddy said 24,000 villages would be developed under the Indiramma programme and the remaining covered by Praja Patham in the next three years.

Panchayat Raj Minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy appealed to people to ensure the victory of the Congress in the local body polls in June-July.

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