Insufficient rainfall and power shortage have come as a double whammy for the farmers in Saurashtra, as the problem has hit the standing crops in the region hard.

Irked by the inadequate and irregular power supply, particularly in rural and agriculture areas, farmers from across the region held demonstration at various places, including outside the office of Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited at Porbandar, on Wednesday.

Later, they submitted a memorandum to the concerned authorities, demanding interrupted power supply for 12 hours in a day.

They expressed apprehension that if adequate power supply was not provided, standing crops worth crores of rupees would be destroyed.

Earlier, sarpanches of the nearly 12 villages in Porbandar taluka had also submitted a memorandum to PGVCL officials in this regard.

Ramdevbhai Modhvadiya, a local farmer leader, said, “We have informed the state Energy Minister about the situation and warned him that

if no action is taken immediately, we will intensify our agitation.”

Rambhai Nandaniya, a farmer from Balagam village in Keshod taluka, endorsed Modhvadiya’s views. “Standing crops in nearly 15 villages are facing acute irrigation problem. Farmers are left with no option… To get uninterrupted power supply, the farmers will gherao the PGVCL office,” he said.

Among those supporting the agitation are farmers from Lodhika in Rajkot district, Tankara taluka, Rajula taluka in Amreli and Khambhaliya taluka in Jamnagar.