POWER CUTS in February may sound a bit peculiar, but it is a reality.
Lucknowites would now have to learn to live with as the State capital would be subjected to a daily three-hour rostering from friday onwards.
The decision as reported by HT on February 14 comes in the wake of announcement made by Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav apparently with an eye on the Assembly poll to ensure 16 hours of power supply to villages.
Not surprisingly, therefore, several localities of the city, which till last year was exempted from rostering, had to face a power cut from 2 pm to 5 pm. Ditto Noida. The same yardstick, however, would not be applied to VVIP constituencies like Etawah, Mainpuri and Gunnur, which according to power corporation sources, have been exempted from rostering.
The situation in the cities already facing power cuts is likely to worsen in the coming days as they would be subjected to additional one to two hour rostering. Power corporation officials feel that with these cuts, they would be able to ensure at least 10 to 12 hours of regular power supply in rural areas.
“The actual impact and improvement in power supply to villages, however, would only become clear in a day or two,” a corporation official said.
{{/usCountry}}“The actual impact and improvement in power supply to villages, however, would only become clear in a day or two,” a corporation official said.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the move has already drawn a howl of protests from several quarters in the State capital. In a memorandum to Power Corporation Managing Director, the chief of Upbhogta Parishad, Avdhesh Kumar Verma, has criticised the decision to resort to power cuts in the city without any prior intimation.
He said ideally, no city or particular area should be exempted from the power cuts. But this rule was not being applied to certain VVIP localities in the State capital alone for instance and they were not subjected to any kind of rostering, he added.