Neglected Power Supply in Manipur

P Jadumani Singh *

With the Electricity Dept unable to supply power, customer make do with a torch light while marketing at Khwairamband bazar in January 2012 :: Pix - TSE

There is loadshedding of twenty hours in a day in Manipur whereas in any part of India load restriction is not practised more than one hour. Manipur government has power for the areas where the V.I.P.'s reside and function, and at the same time the common people comprising of 98 percent of the population are starving of electricity since the last few years.

No electricity to the various kinds of workshops, industrial units, educational institutions, life saving drug storage centres etc is arranged by the government since the last few years. This is the scenerio of power supply in Manipur, very funny and shameful of unfit government. It is agonising to think that in twenty four hours of a day, there is power supply of two hundred minutes to the people of Manipur.

Of course, it is on the alternate days, and also there is another supply of five hours thirty minutes on the other days of the above: This means that government provides power supply of three and half hours, and five and half hours on the alternate days to the people of Manipur making the loadsheddings of twenty and half hours, and eighteen and half hours respectively on turn basis.

This is the situation from which the people of Manipur get heart­break and agitating tempo. This power restriction of the government is the talk of the people in the whole state daily. During the daytime the power supply to the people is managed by the government for mnety minutes and during the evenings/ nights duration of power availability for general public is four hours (6 p.m. to 10 p.m.) or two hour & (from 10 p.m. to 12 midnight) on the alternate days.

This process of the government for givng power supply to the people for a little hour daily is continuing in the midst of public discontentment. The concerned department should not be blamed much since it is wrong policy of the Government that we are facing the acute shortage of power in the state.

This loadshedding methood of the government is very funny that the available power in the state is given to one area for some hours and then shifted it to some other place for the same duration till the whole places of Manipur are covered within twenty four hours. The comparative study of power recieved by the state vis-a-vis its demands shows that there is always shortage of power to meet the requirement of registered comsumers.

The government does not have policy to enhance the present quantum of power purchased from outside. There is no state in India where there is loadshedding more than two hours in a day. But in Manipur there is loadshedding of twenty hours in a day, which is not practised in any part of the world by any government in those countries.

The power that Manipur government has as its own is very negligible and Heavy fuel power house at Leimakhong having the installed capacity of 6x36 MW is remaining unutilised due high cost of maintenance and operation. In the light of this situation Manipur government has been resorting to the purchase of power from outside.

This purchased power is not sufficient to meet the requirement of the state and due to this position the loadshedding programme of the government has been being in enforcement. Losses of power in transmission and distribution systems are a big factor for the reduced power in the state. Half of the power imported from outside source is received by the consumers due to theses losses. Theft or unauthorised connections are another factor for insufficient power for the genuine consumers.

The basic prerequisite for the economic progress of a state is adequate availability of power. Without proper increase in generation or availability of power, industrialisation and development cannot forge ahead. When the power production or its availability is sufficient in our state, we can expect not only comfort from electricity in every house but also the industrial development.

In this world of rapidly industrialised situation a nation is looked upon as a developed or developing or underdeveloped from the angle of its per capita consumption of electricity. The shortfall of the power in the state is a priority area and it is very annoying situation among the people when they do not get the regular power supply.

So government has to do something for additional procurement of power by addition and subtraction method in the budget allocation of the departments. The government can purchase power at any time from any power generating and selling organisation like NHPC, NTPC, Power Trading Corporation etc. to meet the present additional demand of power for the state by allocating some more money in the annual budget for the concerned department.

Government has to be run and government has to look after the welfare and need of the people, because government is for the people, of the people and by the people etc. The electric lines, sub-stations constructed by the government in the state are not meant for decoration without power supply through them. Every state in the north east India has power of their own generation whereas Manipur has not taken up any any power generating plant as its own. It is every shameful and weak administration of Manipur government.

As a measure to cool down the annoyed minds of the people the concerned power­department may be privatised. Or a new private company may be called in to provide power and sell it to the people as a joint venture with Manipur government. Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation is a private organisation giving power to the whole areas of the city covering the population of more than one crore.

In this city there is hardly any load shedding of more than one hour except during the system breakdown. Here in this city people are so conscious that they keep money, reserved separately, to clear their electric bills to avoid disconnection without notice.