The Hindu : Front Page : Kolkata Raj Bhavan opts for power cut

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Thursday, May 08, 2008
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Kolkata Raj Bhavan opts for power cut

Special Correspondent

Governor says that it “need not be an exception to the city’s electricity supply situation”

— Photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury

Setting an example: The Raj Bhavan in Kolkata partially lit by the floodlights of the Eden Gardens stadium during the “power shutdown” session which starts from Wednesday.

Kolkata: The Raj Bhavan observed “voluntary” power cuts for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening here on Wednesday in view of a decision by Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi that it “need not be an exception to the city’s electricity supply situation.”

The move will continue and be reviewed as and when necessary, according to the Governor’s Secretariat.

The city has been suffering from sporadic power cuts over the past few days that the local authorities attribute largely to cable and transformer faults.

Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb said the power situation in West Bengal was better than what it was in many other States.

Biman Bose, chairman of the Left Front Committee, said he did not wish to comment on the views of the Governor but added that it was necessary to consider whether the post of Governor was needed.

Shyamal Chakravarty, central committee member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), told The Hindu that he “welcomed the step taken” by the Governor and expressed the hope that it was a “pioneering” one that would show the way for similar moves to be taken in the future.

“He [the Governor] stays in a palatial place which he could let go off given the housing problem faced by the people and choose instead to live in a more modest quarter as do the Chief Minister and several Ministers,” Mr. Chakravarty said.

“Fifty per cent of the salary the Governor earned could be given to the needy as it might be more than what is required by a small family like his. He could also choose to walk the distance to inaugurate a function he might be invited to and save petrol which has become dear,” Mr. Chakravarty who is also president of the CITU said.

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