E-Paper
City sizzles, reels under power rostering
WITH THE onset of the summer season, acute power crisis is compounding the miseries of the citizens here for the past one week.
WITH THE onset of the summer season, acute power crisis is compounding the miseries of the citizens here for the past one week.
Scheduled and unscheduled power cut along with frequent fluctuation in voltage are common features for the citizens. The city is witnessing hardly 8 to 10 hour power supply which also adversely affects water supply.The power cuts last from 10 am to 3 pm during the day and from 7 pm to 9 pm in the evening. The condition of power supply is worst at night when the city witnesses power cut from 12 pm to 4 am.
Almost all the localities such as Lanka, Assi, Durgakund, Sonarpura, Sigra, Bhelupura, Lahuraveer, Cantonment, Machodari etc are reeling under acute power crisis with inadequate water supply.
Erratic power supply also causes water crisis for the city dwellers in the morning and evening. Since the water supply is dependent on tubewells which run through electricity, the city dwellers are also deprived of adequate water supply.
Like the previous years, this year too the local residents and activists of prominent political parties including the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena have come out on roads and staged demonstrations to protest against grim power scenario. Activists of the BJP under the leadership of its leader Ravindra Jaiswal initiated a movement ‘Neend Haram Karo Andolan’ in Varanasi on Wednesday against the grim power scenario.
The BJP activists took out a procession from its party office under Gulab-bagh area on Wednesday. After passing on several routes, the procession concluded at the office of the managing director of Purvanchal Power Corporation in Sigra where the activists staged a massive demonstration.
Interestingly, the activists brought cots and pillows to sleep outside the office of Purvanchal Power Corporation. The activists were demanding exemption of Varanasi from the night power cut.Ravindra Jaiswal, who led the demonstration, was of the view that the grim power scenario had irritated the traders, students and common public as the night power cut was compelling them to spend sleepless nights.He strongly criticised the Samajwadi Party-led state government for not ensuring adequate power supply in Varanasi. He added that the SP leaders had promised to exempt this city from rostering but had failed to do so .
