In an attempt to come clean on the power crisis, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said that his Government was doing its best to improve power generation and situation will come under control by 2016.
“Previous BSP Government had done nothing to improve power scenario and when I took charge power department was in tatters. We did everything to improve power generation and distribution in last two years. We hope situation will come under control by 2016,” Yadav said in an impromptu interaction with reporters here on Thursday.Yadav even said that by 2016 the villages would get electricity for 20 hours while the cities will get power between 22 and 24 hours.
“I had promised this in my election rallies and will try to fulfil my promise,” he said and added that work was going on full pace in increasing generation. "Until we increase generation we will not be able to come in terms with the power crisis," he said.
The party too came to the rescue of Chief Minister as by evening party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhry said that UP government was purchasing power worth over Rs15 crore daily from the private companies to meet the power crisis.
In Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, except for the night on May 27, power was supplied 24 hours for the past four days, he said.
Chaudhury here said that against the demand of 267 million units, the state was supplying 262 million units in the state daily. He said that the state is not getting its full quota of 6082 megawatt of power from the Central sector as presently they are just giving 4402 megawatt to the State.
"If the Centre gives us entire quota then the state government would increase the power availability in the rural areas from 12 to 14 hours immediately," he said. Chaudhury said that as per the schedule the villages and tehsils are getting 12 hour electricity, the smaller towns 15 hours, divisional headquarters 19 hours and big cities 20 hours power daily.
He said that UP government had gone for an agreement to purchase 1000 mw from western states but due to overloading on the western grid,the power could not be brought to UP.