Tura, April 20: After the MeECL’s revised load shedding schedule was criticized by Tura MDC Bernard Marak on Wednesday, the FKJGP from Garo Hills on Thursday also addressed an open letter to Power Minister A T Mondal raising concern over further extension of load shedding in Garo Hills from 7 hours to 10 hours daily while at the same time, urging that the concerned department take steps to rectify what it called, the irrational move immediately.
“As per the revised timing for load shedding your office has categorically extended the same from 7 hours per day to 10 hours per day in the entire Garo Hills Region. This revised schedule for load shedding will and has until the writing of this letter crippled the normal functioning of life in all of Garo Hills Region. Apart from the improper functioning of life it has also caused insufferable inconveniences to all the people of Garo Hills. Furthermore, the load shedding also poses threat to life as the entire Garo Hills Region is experiencing unprecedented ‘Heat Wave’ whereby some regions are recording temperatures up-to 41◦C,” its President Pritam Arengh said in the letter.
The federation said that while it understood the debts of the government to various power agencies added that the financial status of the state has improved exponentially compared to a decade ago since the state has started levying SGST from the citizens of the state.
“We as laymen are paying our due taxes in the form of SGST and CGST from 12% up-to 28% per state and central Government respectively and we expect to live our lives as first class citizens without being deprived of our basic amenities and electricity is considered a basic amenity in this age and era,” it said.
Reminding that people of the state and Garo Hills gave their mandate in the hope that living standards will be improved by regulating the concerned departments, the federation said that going by the way things are heading, it looked like a total collapse on the part of the Ministry of Power, even as it raised the question of an attempt to privatise the entire power sector.
“The history of Meghalaya has never witnessed daily load shedding summing up-to 7 hours daily let alone 10 hours daily. Furthermore there are reports that we received from various sources that in other Districts of the state the revised load shedding timings sum up from 7 hours daily up-to 9 hours daily w.e.f. 19/04/2023, this pattern forces some sections of the people of Meghalaya to ponder if it is a case of favoritism, which is undesirable keeping in mind the current political scenario of Meghalaya,” the federation added.
The federation, while expressing its cooperation with the government, said that 2 to 3 hours of regular load shedding would be accepted by the majority of the citizens who are all paying customers and suggested that the government explore other ways to generate power.
“We once again implore you to reduce the load shedding hours to not more than 2-4 hours daily despite the deficit in revenue, in the positive general interest of the citizens of Meghalaya. We also hope that the revision of load shedding hours be carried out at the earliest as to prevent any human casualties owing to the unprecedented ‘Heat Wave’ that has gripped the whole Garo Hills Region. We are concerned that it may take a tragedy for the government to realize the miscalculation in the current load shedding timing, and thus we insist on you to immediately reconsider the matter before any tragedy transpires,” the open letter read.