SP Govt taking ‘revenge’ of defeat by making power cutsIJ
This summer has been cruel to residents of Noida and Ghaziabad as long power outages have added to the misery brought on by the soaring mercury. Normal life in NCR has been disrupted by power cuts for six-10 hours every day. Numerous outages and frequent line-tripping has been reported over the past few days.
People of NCR continue to groan under the heat and wonder where are the ‘achche din’ Modi had promised to the entire nation. So great is the anguish that a number of social organisations and resident forums have threatened to stage a protest. While the Government figures say that the State of Uttar Pradesh is going through a power crisis, BJP has hit out at the SP saying that it is extracting the price of its defeat from the people. Massive power cuts are also being reported in Gurgaon and Faridabad.
With mercury rising, while the power demand in Noida has peaked above 1,110 MW, the supply stands at a paltry 750 MW. While industrial units face four-six hours of loadshedding, lights are out in residential units six-eight hours daily. The worst-affected are the rural areas where electricity is supplied only eight to 10 hours. In Ghaziabad, the power supply varies between 850 MW to 1,000 MW against the required demand of 1,500 MW. The power situation in Gurgaon is no different facing a shortage of 300 MW to 400 MW and outages between four-six hours. More than 12 hours of power cuts are also being witnessed in most parts of Faridabad.
The residents of Govindpuram, Vasundhara, Vaishali, Indirapuram, Raj Nagar, Sahibabad, Murad Nagar, Modi Nagar, Govindpuram in Ghaziabad, various sectors of Noida and Greater Noida are reeling under severe power crisis as Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation limited (UPPCl) has failed to meet the surging power demand. Outages in Noida’s Phases I, II and III and Greater Noida have left industrialists fuming. The matter has been brought to the notice of the District Magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar. The situation, it is alleged, has worsened after May 16 when the new Government assumed power in the Centre.
According to a senior official of Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam limited (PVVNl) — a subsidiary body of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation limited (UPPCl) — with the area burgeoning, the department is unable to meet power demands. “We have limited number of power sub-stations that are incapable of supplying enhanced power. We are not getting additional electricity from UPPCl. The crisis is likely to end once supply starts from the two power sub-stations currently under construction,” said Arvind Rajvedi, Superintending Engineer of PVVNl, Noida.