By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The sudden load shedding which was imposed upon the residents of Shillong from Thursday morning has drawn flak from Opposition MLAs.
The Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MPDCL) in an advertisement published here informed that the load shedding has come into force from April 25 due to low availability of power from the domestic grid as well as from the Central Sector generating stations.
Taking a stern view of the load shedding, UDP MLA Paul Lyngdoh on Friday asserted that the Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited has failed to perform on all fronts.
“Mismanagement by bureaucrats is the reason for the current situation,” Lyngdoh added.
The UDP legislator also lashed out the hugely escalated cost of the Myntdu-Leshka Hydel Power Project which has failed to generate the projected 126 MW of energy.
“This is the reason why I had asked for a white paper on the floor of the House,” he said.
The load shedding has come at a time when three phases of the Myntdu-Leshka Hydel Power Project are believed to have been completed but it is generating only 10 MW of power and that too after the budget for the project escalated from Rs 363 crore in 2004 to Rs 965 crore in 2012.
As per the advertisement of Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited, load shedding will take place for five to six hours every day on a rotational basis.
What most consumers feel aggrieved about is that the power cuts are happening in the morning hours (8 am -10 am in some localities) when power is required for cooking and other domestic purposes and then on two or three occasions later during the day.
Nationalist People’s Party (NPP) MLA James Sangma said that the load shedding in Shillong has come despite the assurance of the Government that the power scenario would be improved.
“There is an urgent need to turn the Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited into an independent Corporation,” Sangma said.
According to Sangma, there is an inherent problem with the organization as it has excess number of engineers (Chief and Additional Engineers) but lesser number of junior engineers and linemen.
He also said that Myntdu-Leshka Hydel Power Project has become a ‘white elephant’ and the project is in tatters due to mismanagement of the Government and the Power Department.
It may be recalled that last year, Union Power Minister Veerappa Moily had assured that the Central Government would allocate another 25 MW to the State from the Central power share from October to ensure uninterrupted power supply but till date the statement of the Minister has remained only an assurance and not a reality.