Frequent outages deepen Ukhrul power crisis
Source: Chronicle News Service / R Lester Makang
Ukhrul, September 08 2024:
In Ukhrul district, frequent power failures have become the norms, leaving locals to contend with the outages which have raised questions about the reliability of power supply in the district.
Investigations into the issue have revealed a mix of administrative and infrastructural challenges as key factors contributing to the problem.
However, despite having brought these concerns to the attention of the authorities concerned, there has been little in the way of effective government action to alleviate the power crisis besetting the district.
In this backdrop, Michael Shaiza, co-in-charge of Political Programme and Meetings (BJP Manipur Pradesh), has urged Power minister Th Biswajit Singh to look into the matter and find solutions to the district's protracted power woes at the earliest.
Reiterating the demands of the district, he pointed out that there is a pressing need to revamp the existing power infrastructures.
"One is revival of the unused old powerhouse at the Hundung cement factory by installing two 5 MVA transformers.
This step could significantly bolster the local power supply capacity," Shaiza told The People's Chronicle in an interaction on Saturday.
He also requested the Power minister to reconnect the Nungbi 33KV substation to Namrei 33KV substation line, while noting that this is another critical recommendation aimed at enhancing the distribution network.
Shaiza further called for upgrading the machinery at Tolloi 33KV and Namrei 33KV substations in order to improve overall efficiency and performance.
"In this digital age, the demand for electricity has surged exponentially with many educated youths turning to online businesses, and students increasingly reliant on online education platforms," he said, adding that due to this there is more need for a reliable power supply than ever.
According to Shaiza, the electricity supply for Ukhrul and neighbouring Kamjong district is supposed to be managed by two companies, namely MSPCL and MSPDCL.
"But, the absence of any personnel from MSPCL in Ukhrul has posed a big problem.
So, when there is a breakdown in the 33KV line, the repair team must be dispatched from Imphal, leading to prolonged outages".
The public are now demanding transparency and action to address the chronic power issues, especially in line with the broader vision of a digitalized nation as envisioned by the Prime Minister, he contended.
Shaiza went on to state that the problem is aggravated by a severe shortage of manpower in MSPDCL Ukhrul Division.
"Out of the sanctioned posts for 14 section officers, only one is currently available.
Similarly, only two out of 102 linemen and none of the 34 sanctioned line men are present to manage the electrical infrastructure," he noted, adding that this acute staff shortage has severely hampered the power supply.
Shaiza exuded hope that with the swift intervention of the minister, effective solutions will be implemented to bring much-needed relief to the power stressed public.