'Don't tell reason, solve the problem': Akhilesh to UP govt on power crisis

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday criticized the state government for ”telling reasons” instead of solving the power crisis. He posted a tweet attaching an excerpt of information given by Energy Minister A K Sharma which spoke about the closure of a few power generation units due to technical reasons. Sharing the news, Yadav said, ”Government’s job is not to tell the cause of a problem but to solve it”.

A day ago, Sharma had tweeted, ”Some power generation units in UP are closed for several weeks due to technical reasons in which Harduaganj-660 MW, Meja-660 MW, Bara-660 MW are included. Harduaganj-605 MW was also damaged by the seasonal storm. Efforts are being made to fix them and start the power supply on a war footing”. On Friday too, Yadav had targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging that people of the state are getting scorched by heat and the unannounced power cuts.

Yadav said from Purvanchal to western Uttar Pradesh, people were suffering and the power crisis was deepening with soaring mercury. In another tweet, Sharma had on Friday said, ”The demand for electricity has increased due to summer. Many power plants are closed for weeks due to technical reasons, so make every effort to save electricity. Our power workers are working day and night to ensure uninterrupted supply.” In another tweet, Sharma also asked personnel of the power department to remain vigilant 24×7 during ”these challenging times”. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Monday held a review meeting of the power department and directed officials to maintain uninterrupted power supply in the state. Arrangements should also be made for additional (units of) electricity to maintain uninterrupted power supply, Yogi had said , adding that in case of transformer malfunctioning or damage of electricity wires, the problem should be immediately addressed.

According to a power department official, the power demand in Uttar Pradesh is around 22,000 MW while the availability is around 19,000 MW because of which, electricity is being cut in villages and towns.

According to the data made available by the Power Department earlier, at present, electricity is being supplied in rural areas on an average of 15 hours and seven minutes against the scheduled 18 hours. Similarly, electricity is being supplied on an average of 19 hours and three minutes against the scheduled 21 hours and 30 minutes in towns and 19 hours 50 minutes against 21 hours 30 minutes in tehsil headquarters.

However, 24 hours electricity is being provided at district headquarters, they said.

A total of around 5820 MW electricity is being generated in Uttar Pradesh at present and the rest is being purchased.