339 fires in sugarcane fields leave C’nagar farmers clutching losses

Mysuru: Many sugarcane growers suffer losses due to accidental fire caused by spark in overhead heavy electric wires that pass through sugarcane fields in Chamarajanagar district. Every year, hundreds of acres of sugarcane crops are destroyed by such tragedies caused by sparks in overhead wires. Sugarcane cultivation covers 15,000 acres of land in the border district this crushing season.
As per district fire and emergency services department sources, the district recorded 339 cases of fire mishaps in cane fields caused by power cables passed along their fields during 2022.
Of these, 129 were reported from Chamarajanagar taluk, 108 in Yelandur, 55 in Gundlupet, while 47 were in Hanur taluk. Standing sugarcane crops ranging between one acre to five of various farmers have been destroyed by such fire mishaps in the region.
Nagesh of Hebsur village of Chamajanagar taluk said a fire in his fields destroyed 65 tonnes of sugarcane last year. As there were sparks in the power supply lines that fell on his crop, it blaze down his field. Though he had filed a complaint with CESC to replace the hanging cables as they had laid power lines for long stretches, to shift the slanted electric poles, he got no response. “I even approached local revenue, district administration, but my request fell on their deaf ears,” he said.
“As sugarcane grows up to 20 feet from the ground level catches fire after coming into contact with hanging power cables, both district administration and Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Company (Cesc) authorities must give compensation,” he added. The government must also come up with programmes to protect the sugarcane crops during such fire mishaps.
As delay in harvesting has resulted in such tragedies, even local sugar factories who had agreements with farmers for the supply must harvest within 12 months without delay to avoid such incidents, said Honnur Prakash, district chief of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha. As the fire in the fields was caused because of the company’s laxity and it is responsible for the crop getting burnt, farmers should get the compensation for the cane as per the prevailing market rates for the average production in their area, he said.
Speaking to TOI, Cesc’s Chamarajanagar executive engineer Vasanth Kumar said the power utility refers such cases of distribution of compensation for sugarcane crops destroyed by fire mishaps to the department higher ups to fix the amount for distribution of compensation. Farmers must also plant their crops leaving enough space and much distance from electric poles that pass along their fields to avoid such incidents, he said.