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ShareFollowing reader Rupkatha Raghavan's diatribe against load-shedding, citizens throw a few more punches at authorities responsible for their plight.
It's not only Navi Mumbai, but even small towns such as Ambarnath, Kalyan and Dombivali go dark for as long as eight hours everyday. But nobody cares; reporters should go and live with the residents one day and experience the problems. What were the planners doing all this while? Did they not realise that the state was hurtling towards a power crisis? Or this is a planned way to hike electricity tariff and increase the sales of inverters?
Why do power companies want us to reduce our consumption to 75 or 100 units compared to 300 units in Mumbai? Why doesn't Mumbai have power cuts? If they are humans, what are we? Why don't reporters check ministerial residences and see how much free electricity they are wasting? Why are the babus of MSEDCL not checking power theft? MSEDCL ads say we will be self-sufficient by 2010-2011. Does that mean we have to suffer till then? Why was the Dabhol power project closed citing a drop in demand during monsoon and winter? Aren't winters followed by summer? Can I have some answers? -- Sandeep
Metro rail will drain more power
That's the one important question we need to ask the authorities now. MMRDA's plan of building a metro railway sounds like a boon for Mumbaikars. Today, if a person from Charkop wants to travel to Mankhurd, it takes him at least two hours and three different modes of transport. The metro will cut the travel time to a mere 20 minutes.
But are we ready for it? Today, most of Maharashtra is grappling with a severe power crisis and it's only likely to get worse in summer. We already have a deficit of 5000 MW this year. In such a situation, the metro rail project will only add to the problem. It is true that the project seems god-sent for Mumbaikars, but are we ready to enjoy such luxuries at the cost of power cuts in our homes and offices?
I request the masses to exhort the administrators to address fundamental concerns instead of initiating eye-catching projects for petty mileage. -- Alpesh Lapsiwala
