Punjab Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Sunday blamed the central government for the power crisis that hit Punjab in the last four to five days. He said the crisis stemmed from the centre’s negative attitude and its policy of depriving the state of its rightful share of electricity, and credited Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Powercom officials with averting the crisis.
Dhaliwal said the problem had arisen from technical faults at the private thermal power plants in Talwandi Sabo and Nabha, which have now been fully rectified. He added that since 6 a.m. on Sunday, uninterrupted electricity has been supplied across Punjab to agricultural, industrial and domestic consumers without any cuts.
Punjab’s own power generation has reached 5,300 to 5,400 megawatts, and all 10 thermal units in the state are functioning smoothly. The total demand of 15,700 MW is being met successfully, he claimed.
He questioned the BJP government, saying that whenever a state faces a technical crisis, it is the centre’s duty to support it. He accused the central government of abandoning Punjab during the crisis, stopping the 1,051 MW of electricity that Punjab was to receive from the central pool, despite repeated contacts and letters from the Punjab power minister and officials.
Dhaliwal urged the Punjab BJP leadership to speak up for the state’s withheld rural development fund, link roads funds, and rightful share of electricity. He assured farmers and industrialists that there is no need to panic, noting that the state is receiving a continuous supply of coal from its own Pachhwara coal mine, with Ropar plant having 30 days’ coal, Lehra Mohabbat 11 days, Goindwal Sahib 16 days, Nabha 8 days, and Talwandi Sabo 4 days.
