TURA: As if the nine long hours of load shedding effected by the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) every 24 hours was not enough to provoke the power consumers of Tura the inability of the Corporation to provide anything more than pathetic power distribution even during normal hours has irked many people of the town whose anger and frustration have now reach a boiling point.
The scheduled timing for load shedding as announced by the MeECL was from 1 am to 6 am, 12 noon to 2 pm and again from 5 pm to 7pm.
On Monday night following a light drizzle and lightning, power had gone off at around 10:15 pm which did not return until late in the morning the next day. When power eventually returned at around 11:50 am one would have thought that the load shedding hours would be reduced keeping in view the early power shutdown before the load shedding timing the night before.
However, power was once again shut off ten minutes later at 12 noon sharp which continued on until 2 pm for the full duration of the load shedding hours after which power was restored and went on uninterrupted till 5 pm. Load shedding continued from 5 to 7 pm after which power was again restored.
Unbelievably, to the utter dismay of the citizens power was cut again twice between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm.
Shockingly, the unbelievable inefficiency of the MeECL did not end there. On Wednesday, after power was restored at 2 pm it was disrupted 40 minutes later at 2:40 pm and only came back one hour later at 3:40 pm putting a last straw on the patience of the consumers who expressed anger and condemnation against the extreme incompetency of the MeECL.
A doctor from Baghmara in South Garo Hills who is currently on maternity leave in Tura questioned the relevancy of the load shedding timings.
“What is the relevancy of announcing the load shedding timings if the MeECL cannot provide uninterrupted power during normal hours? We have learnt to cope with the inconveniences that come with load shedding. However, do they also expect us to tolerate continuous power cuts even during normal hours when the load shedding is not in place,” she demanded and wondered how long the people of Tura would remain silent.
What is even more shocking is the fact that the load shedding timing was never officially notified to the media. It was only through popular networking sites like ‘Face book’ that people got to know about it.
Another interesting factor is the complacency and the apathetic attitude of the higher ups of the corporation including Engineers and SDOs as one frustrated employee of the GHADC pointed out.
“How can the SDOs and the engineers remain as if they are unaccountable to the problems being faced by the people? They cannot be apathetic to the situation, they need to act immediately,” he said.
The complaint department of the MeECL has also been a thorn in the neck for many customers. If one were to call up the complaint number after power has been cut the most likely answer he gets would be that ‘the subscriber was busy’ or worse that ‘the subscriber was not reachable’.
The pre-recorded computerized message that answers ‘the subscriber is not reachable’ has angered many customers as they strongly question how that could be the case.
“The communication device being used in the MeECL must be a unique one as no other landline device can be taken to a location where it is out of reach,” a retired government employee remarked on a sarcastic note.
Meanwhile, reacting to the power problem being faced in the region Publicity Secretary of the AYWO, Dainadubi Branch, Jimbarth Marak, has demanded that other than during load shedding hours the concerned authority provide regular power supply to the region.
“Many of the health and educational Institutes, business hubs etc., are affected due to the irregular power supply. The concerned authority needs to act immediately so as to ease the problems of the people,” he said.
