Santanu Saraswati
Kolkata, April 27—It’s neither the land versus industry debate nor the moving out of Tatas from Singur. What is presently giving Left Front poll-managers sleepless nights is the power scenario that has seen little light since last April 19 — the day all four generation stations of the private power utility broke down at the same time.
Though power cuts, which started with 937-mega watts, came down to 400-mega watts—districts still have to go through the ordeals of shedding varying from three to four hours in this blistering summer. The state power minister, Mrinal Banerjee, declined saying: “The situation has improved a lot. It will be perfectly alright by this week.” But his observation has hardly brought any relief for party comrades. Not only the political opponents, a section of CPI (M) poll managers didn’t rule out an aftermath on Left Front’s poll prospect in the forthcoming parliamentary polls schedule to start from April 30.
There are protests, gherao and even berserk of state board offices and distribution centres, sometimes in a violent manner. Left Front partner, RSP and Forward Bloc, have already admitted of having tough time in North Bengal districts making their voters understand that the ongoing long-hour power cuts is nothing but a temporary phenomenon. Oppositions didn’t leave the scope making it an issue saying ‘power surplus Bengal’ is nothing but a myth. And reality is: People in the districts are left to suffer with power cuts no less than two to three hours even in a normal day with no shortfall.
Trinamool Congress candidate, Kalyan Banerjee, recently distributed lanterns in his constituency as an attempt to highlight people’s woe in Left Front regime – the issue that has already referred to the election commission as a violation of code of conduct. But whatever might be the power minister’s observation, this state never had electricity 24 hours, at least for seven consecutive days in the past five years — be it because of swampy coal supply from the CIL companies, or frequent breakdowns of newly built up thermal power plants at Sagardighi, Durgapur or old units at Kolaghat or Bandel. “Trusting the Chinese company, Dong Fang Electric was a blunder,” said a CPI (M) MLA on the basis of anonymity.
The CITU secretary and the president of State Electricity Board Employees Association (SEBEA), Prasanta Nandi Chowdhury, admitted that problem with DPL’s new unit would persist and there is no way out. “The DPL-issue should have to be tackled in a different way from the day it broke down for the first time after commercial generation started. But problems with Sagardighi will surely settle in soon,” Nandi Chowdhury said.
The CITU, it is learnt, was never in favour of allotting the order of developing mega thermal power plant to Chinese power equipment major Dong Fang Electric. The CITU leadership observed that the order should have go to J Power, the company that developed the first artificial hydel power unit of the country in Purulia successfully.
The state power department, however, has directed the power utilities to cut down their supply to industrial consumers, and generate optimum capacity to meet this crisis as well as people’s onslaught. But the reality is far away from perception. While the generation company has a huge due with the ECL, it has a huge pending amount to realise from the distribution company—the tug of war that is taking toll on state’s generation—a situation that is beyond control of the ailing minister. “We are also in business of power,” said Suhriday Mahapatra, managing director, WBPDCL.
If steady power supply to Salt Lake be a gain for Left Front, slipshod outlook towards the district people may prove detrimental, at least this time—what the poll managers think. “We are facing this question at every doorstep, but without a concrete answer. True the state board has a step-motherly attitude towards its consumers in districts, as revenue realisation is much lower than Salt Lake. But it is us who have to face people, not the state board bosses. SEB has to go miles to have a corporate outlook. We apprehend that power crisis might hit us below the belt this time,” the CPI (M) MLA told Hindustan Times.
EOM
santanu_saraswati@hotmail.com
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