The Hindu : Karnataka News : Unscheduled loadshedding makes life difficult in Kolar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 29, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka

Unscheduled loadshedding makes life difficult in Kolar

Vishwa Kundapura

BESCOM official says it is due to a technical snag

Drinking water supply affected in both rural and urban areas
Farmers cannot pump water to the fields to cultivate crops

A file photo of farmers and residents staging a protest at the Tamaka power station on the outskirts of Kolar.

KOLAR: Even as the State Government has decided to lift power cut on September 1, people in Kolar and Chickballapur districts are up in arms against the Government and Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) officials for the agony they are encountering due to loadshedding.

Though power cut, which is in vogue now, concerns a policy matter, what is worrying people more is the frequent and unscheduled disruption in power supply, forcing them to resort to agitations.

Many areas in the district do not receive any power supply during night.

“Farmers cannot feed water to the crops due to intermittent power supply,” said Byalahalli Govinda Gowda, a cooperative leader, who led a protest at Tamaka power station on the outskirts of the town a few days ago.

“Since pumphouses are also bereft of power, drinking water supply is also hit badly in the rural and the urban areas,” he added.

In addition to the official five-hour loadshedding in rural areas (it is six hours in urban areas), unbridled power cut, without notice, in both rural and urban areas has put the residents in trouble.

Every section of society, from students to home-makers, to industrialists and farmers, are in woes due to the poor handling of power supply despite the good monsoon in the State, Mr. Govinda Gowda said.

Loss

“At times, power goes off at least three times in a span of half an hour. How can we carry out household works,” was the grouse of Pavithra, a home-maker in Gowripet area here.

“Unscheduled power cut is the ‘bonus shock’ to the people,” she said.

According to the District Chamber of Commerce and Industries president B. Suresh, traders in the town are suffering losses as customers do not turn up in the evening due to power cut.

When asked, BESCOM Kolar Circle Superintending Engineer L. Shankara Gowda told The Hindu that a technical snag was the reason for this.

Everything will be in order and there would be no unscheduled power cut from Thursday, he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka