There is a problem with the State machinery and that should not be an iota of surprise to anyone. The state im talking of is my own state wherein i reside...Maharashtra...the state is in huge debt...then there is the pathetic condition the railway--the most extensively used means of transport in Mumbai--the state electricity board is in total disruption(mirroring the state)...desperate for power but haplessly inefficient!!...
In the sub-urbs of Mumbai the load-shedding is perhaps most evident..ive heard there are also regions where the load shedding is around 15-16 hrs a day...here it stands at a "moderate"7 1/2 hrs a day!!...
There is a total shortfall of around 5700 Mw of power in the State..n Andhra Pradesh is trying to cash in on it by selling its excess to us at around Rs 8.3/unit. We would have bought that but the state just does not have enough funds to do that as well. And all this...i know...but still, its difficult to understand how the state officials could not have estimated such an increased demand in advance...sure it is tough!..but then so what?..those guys are appointed at those posts only because they are expected to be fully able to calculate and plan for the best interests of the people in the state!...
Another quite startling thing is that while the MSEB has been constantly increasing the hrs under load-shedding, there have been very frequent protests....i mean, yes, i did hear bout the blocking of the Mumbai-Agra highway by the businessmen...angry protesters in other parts of Maharashtra but a very few from the district where i live in!!...its like...i can now think of that one line that Mr Mohan Bhargav said in Swades..the people here have just got so used to living in darkness that it seems but normal to them..the load-shedding, that is. I know perhaps its wrong to blame the people...but then how do let the Govt know of this unacceptable behaviour?...how?..angry protesters beat up those MSEB officials forgetting that they live in the same vicinity where these angry men come from!!
It is about time something legislative happened...the Supreme Court with its recent judgements has boosted the public confidence to a large extent...it wont be incorrect to assume that the public rests more hope.
This problem that has gripped the state will perhaps not go away until the end of the decade..we can only hope for a faster solution....and oh yes...about the farmer suicides...in-efficiency of the state to zero-in on the July 11 blasts i think ill write next time....
This is the part where i expect you to leave a comment...a counter argument...anything you would like to...thank you for the patience exhibited...he he..but we need to now start making a sound!!
1 comment:
Hi Rutesh,
Good one, yes the government machinery, did envision such a scenario, isn't that why Enron was commissioned, but corruption stopped Enron in the tracks. You may remember these very politicians who show no empathy towards the plight of the people were extremely concerned that Enron will bleed the exchequer to bankruptcy...so whats different now, well, today the people of Maharashtra don't mind paying extra for uninterrupted power, but even the other states do not have enough to sell.
The Enron plant in Dabhol energized the Konkan region's non existent economy, I would really like to see that getting re-commissioned, that could alleviate the situation to some extent...ofcourse, provided the MSEB gets its act together and finally sets up a distribution system that does not cause 40% energy losses!! 40% energy loss!! What a joke, more like 40% of energy robbed!
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