SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Jan 14: Unscheduled power cuts by Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) in its command areas have plunged seven districts of the state in darkness again.
Officially, DVC authorities inform about the cutting of power supply in its command area for 7.30 hours a day (2.30 hour at a time). But they allegedly cut power for 10 to 12 hours daily without prior information to the concerned officials of Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL).
Seven districts of Jharkhand: Giridih, Dhanbad, Bokaro (Chas), Koderma, Ramgarh, Hazaribagh and Chatra; fall in the command area of DVC and depend totally on it for their power supply owing to technical reasons.
Though some districts like Dhanbad and Ramgarh have been recently connected with the national grid, they do not get power from the national grid as per requirement.
For realizing pending arrear of the dues (estimated over Rs 22 crore) on JBVNL, DVC has been mounting pressure for payment with load shedding.
Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) Dhanbad area board officials told media persons that it is difficult to say how many hours DVC would cut power in a day as no real information is being shared by DVC over power supply.
JBVNL executive engineer SB Tiwari admitted that unscheduled power cuts by DVC create new problems day by day. “ DVC authorities had assured to cut power only two and half hours in a day daily but now they have begun load shedding of 10 to 12 hours in a day. Power cuts in peak hours complicate the problem of urban as well as rural consumers,” said SB Tiwari.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Industries and Trade Association (JITA) has urged the state government for its immediate intervention into arbitrary power cuts by DVC authorities to save industries and commerce of the seven districts.
JITA general secretary Rajiv Sharma, in a memorandum to chief minister today, has said that DVC cut power daily more than it informs officially on paper.
“JBVNL officials look helpless over taking action against DVC. So kindly take steps and bail out consumers of seven districts from DVC,” said JITA general secretary.
