Team Herald
PARRA: There was a tense situation at Almeida waddo in Parra where over 40 farmers and locals came together and stopped the work of erecting of electric poles in the fields to lay a 33 KVA line from the Thivim sub-station to the Nagoa sub-station, on Tuesday.
The farming community of Parra are agitated over the pulling of yet another high tension line through their fields, which they say, makes the fields unsafe.
Farmers allege that this is the third time this work has been halted in the village over the last two months as they have not been taken into confidence.
The farmers say that despite strong opposition, the officials are trying to get the work done by force. Six months ago, the officials reportedly tried to carry out the work, but the locals did not allow the same then.
Aware that the farmers would protest yet again, on Tuesday, the electricity officials came with the police to carry out the work.
Executive Engineer Narvekar tried to pacify the farmers, but they did not agree. He told the farmers that the line cannot be laid along the roadside as it needs alignment and if people need underground cabling it would take time. Hence, he said, this was the convenient way to get a high tension line laid from Thivim sub-station to Nagoa to resolve the electricity problem along the beach belt.
Joint Mamlatdar Vinod Dalal requested the electricity department to hold a meeting with the farmers and for a solution and till then halt the work.
A Parra Panch Chandu Harmalkar said that no permission has been obtained from the panchayat to lay the 33KVA line. “They will be destroying the fields of the farmers if they install these poles,” he warned.
