BJP vice president Vasundhara Raje on Saturday targeted the Rajasthan government over the power crisis in the state, saying the unscheduled power cuts are a result of the Congress dispensation's mismanagement. In a statement, Raje said that people in both villages and cities are troubled by the power cuts.
However, Rajasthan Energy Minister B D Kalla, who reached Delhi to resolve the issue, blamed the power crisis on increased demand due to weak monsoon and disruption of coal supply.
Raje claimed many power stations in Rajasthan have been closed. The Suratgarh Super Thermal Power Plant has come to a standstill, with all six units of 250-250 MW closed due to the non-availability of coal rakes, she said.
The former Rajasthan chief minister claimed that the coal supply has stopped as the state government has not cleared the pending dues. This has affected power generation to a great extent.
She said during her tenure as the chief minister, dues were cleared on time. There was no shortage of coal and hence, power generation was never affected.
Today, the situation is such that neither the common man is getting adequate power supply nor industries, she added.
Deputy Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly Rajendra Rathore, too, targeted the state government over the power shortage.
In a tweet, he claimed 4,000 MW of power generation capacity has been affected due to the closure of units of Kalisindh and Suratgarh thermal plants and as a result, people in rural areas are facing unannounced power cuts.
Energy Minister Kalla told reporters in Delhi that efforts are being made to resolve the problem by talking to the central government and coal companies.
"There isn't so much electricity consumption during monsoon. The demand increased due to a weak monsoon. The supply of coal has also been disrupted due to water entering various coal mines. Coal India is not supplying enough coal," he said.
Rajasthan's Principal Energy Secretary Dinesh Kumar is also in Delhi with Kalla.
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