Editor,
Why does Govt continue to support Global Satnam ? the headline in your newspaper (ST Dec 13, 2021) should make the public ponder why the MDA government is beholden to Satnam Global and to ask pertinent questions. The strong statement by the President of Data aquisition & Management (DAM), Mr Mohit Kumar of the Rs1.5 lakh crore rolled out scheme made compulsory and which is potentially the most serious reform by the Government I wish to explain why the new Power Minister made U turn on his sudden halt of the further manufacture of smart meters. It can be one and only one reason – a pacifist agenda amongst the secret triangle of Mr Prestone Tynsong ,his predesessor James Sangma and the main player as the project is not a small one by any stretch of imagination.
How could the 25,000 households falsely certified by the MeECL, that had earlier infuriated our new Power Minister be smart meter ready at such lightning speed? One very important discovery is that Havells the most reputed electrical firm that made ISI cables and the most important circuit breaker that automatically cuts overloaded or short-circuited appliances and which saves appliances from lightning surge at 6 milli- second, needed to disassociate itself from HPL in a public write- up. This is very serious. The Govt. of India had long ago instructed all households in the country to have the main traditional Kit Kat replaced by the MCBs. The most sensitive one the B type is for domestic of 3 Kwatt ( 2 of them).For those with high power consumption say, 2 Kw motor; the less sensitive C type is employed to prevent unnecessary upping of the MCB switch and D the most insensitive is for heavy industries like giant saw mills, lift motors ,steel fabrication etc. Had this been executed as promised, those self-styled linemen at home with little knowledge of twisting the screw drivers and fixing vehicle-used copper wires that can handle 100 amperes, many houses'( especially the Assam Type) would not have caught fire so easily in our state in winter.
Instead, we barked up the wrong tree, with arguments that the smart meter would prevent tampering a crime committed not by the innocent domestic users but the big corporates especially the steel industries as detected in Byrnihat. In Meghalaya the crores of unpaid debts of MeECL as stated by Mr Tynsong relate more to government offices and government-owned buildings.
The power theft at Byrni had reached a stage where the MeECL was compelled to install 2 meters – one for transmitting and the other for receiving memory records for the industries. With this the MeECL found that prior to the setting up of these two systems, the revenue earned was Rs 25 crores. And post the setting it jumped to Rs 40 crore. If this could be followed in the 9 cement plants ( average 118 Mw hr p/m) the revenue will improve considerably.
Finally let us also know whether the power supplied through internet is NOT the Kilowatt Hour as in the old meter be it electric ( eddy rotating aluminium disc) or electronics the blinking LED with digital counter to the LCD ( liquid crystal displays); but in Kilovolt ampere/hour .Both are units of energy but KVA/hour includes the loss during transmission ( inductive and capacitative). Physicists call it the cosine factor. For the lay person if one were boiling water with immersion rod of 1 Kw for one hour the bill in would be 1 Kw/hr = 1 unit at Rs 4. The smart meter will show Rs 4 plus 30 paisa (technical loss).So for every unit one pays more. In a month we will be paying quite a sum for transmission loss.
Lastly even if we are WIFI connected we are going to be blacked out without information if we happen to be in a shadow zone and the message would be conveyed at a cost to the consumer.
Till date the smart meter campaign included only six households per one thousand with 251 million households as the target by 2025. Hence if our Power Minister could lead from the front the masses would slowly join the bandwagon. Then who knows Meghalaya may bag the first prize!
Yours etc.,
W.Passah,
Ex-HOD Electronics
and Physics, St Edmund’s College.
Caution against Omicron imperative
Editor,
Amid rise in the number of Omicron cases in India, the Centre has warned of drop in mask usage and the resulting infection dangers. Holiday season and assembly election in states may cause a spike in infection cases. In such a scenario, following Covid appropriate behaviour is of utmost importance. However, a large number of people in the country disregard the norms, throw caution to the wind and do as they wish. Stringent enforcement of masking has slackened over time. Considering the gravity of the situation, strict measures need to be adopted.
Vaccination and masking are two ways of combating the disease. As masks can be bought at reasonable prices, everyone can buy them and wear them. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s projections, India’s mask usage has dwindled to 59% currently. In April, it had steadily risen and throughout May it touched 80%. The surge in infection cases and strict enforcement during the second wave prompted people to wear masks. Covid norms followed by countries such as Japan and South Korea where 92% citizens wear masks serve as model behaviour for India. In spite of high vaccination rates, infection cases have been on the rise in several countries. In India, people’s indifference to masking norms has led to lack of adherence to masking rules. Given that India is an overpopulated country, a sudden surge in infections will lead to an out of control situation and it will put strain on healthcare facilities. Strictness about masking slackened as vaccination drive gained pace. Considering that there is delay in using booster dose, masking is the right path. Political leaders must ensure that those participating in election campaigns wear masks. As the pandemic has not gone away, it is the responsibility of everyone to ensure that the disease does not spread.
Yours etc.,
Venu GS,
Kollam