 "Raghubar Das")
Terming the Jharkhand government "inefficient", BJP leader and former chief minister Raghubar Das has accused the JMM-led dispensation of not planning in advance to avoid power cuts in the state during summer.
Addressing a rally organised by the saffron party's Jamshedpur Mahanagar Committee in Birsanagar on Saturday to protest against the acute electricity shortage, Das said industries, businesses, hospitals and supply of water were badly affected owing to the prolonged power outage.
Students are facing challenges due to the inadequate power supply at a time when their board examinations are going on, he said, adding that the steel city of Jamshedpur is experiencing "15-17 hours of power cut amid the heatwave condition.
"The outrage over the acute power crisis in Jharkhand, one of the largest coal-producing states in the country, is due to the inefficient Hemant Soren government and its lack of pre-planning to tackle such situation," the BJP's national vice president said while addressing the "Akroah March" here.
Had the JMM-led government pre-planned to tackle the prevailing situation, it would have made power purchase agreements with utilities such as Tata Power, DVC or any other company, Das said.
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Chief Minister Hemant Soren had recently admitted that the state is unable to meet the peak demand, but said his government has sanctioned additional funds for buying power from the open market through energy exchanges.
"The heat is beyond imagination... several states in the country are facing shortage of power. It is also difficult to purchase power from the open market due to high rates and competition among states," the CM had said.
Das claimed that the previous BJP government in Jharkhand had signed a memorandum of understanding with authorities of Patratu Thermal Power Station and NTPC to produce 4,000 megawatt of power by 2024 with 800 MW in the first phase.
"The project could not be made operational due to inefficiency of the present JMM regime. Our approach was to ensure export of not only coal but power as well to other states," he claimed.
BJP leader also said former prime minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee had laid the foundation stone for an NTPC project in North Karanpura in Chatra district but it "remained stalled for ten years under the UPA rule at the Centre".
"The project work had started soon after the Narendra Modi government at the Centre came to power in 2014, and it is ready for power generation but is still waiting for a forest department's clearance from the state," Das alleged.
BJP's Jamshedpur MP Bidyut Baran Mahato regretted that Jharkhand was reeling under the immense power crisis despite the state being a major coal producer in the country.
Holding placards, hand fans, candles and lanterns, hundreds of BJP activists held the "Akrosh March" here on Saturday.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
