By IANS
New Delhi : Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Tuesday directed power distributing companies (Discoms) to refrain from load shedding in Muslim-dominated areas during Ramadan, and asked civic authorities to provide adequate water during the holy month.
Dikshit said that adequate supply of power, water and arrangements for sanitation and cleanliness should be ensured during the Ramadan month that begins Thursday.
She exhorted Discoms “to maintain uninterrupted supply of power and avoid any power shedding” by citing power theft as an excuse.
Similar instructions were also given to the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), which was directed to maintain supply of water, especially in the wee hours during the fasting month.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi was directed to concentrate on sanitation and cleanliness by deploying sufficient number of workers.
The chief minister said she would personally “take rounds of Muslim-dominated localities to assess the actual position of basic amenities”.
The directions came after a meeting with state Power Minister A.K. Walia, Development Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf, Deputy Speaker of Delhi assembly Shoaib Iqbal and other top officials.
In a separate meeting, Walia also told Discoms that power cuts should be avoided (in general) and wherever necessary the details and proper justification be submitted to him at regular interval.
The Indian capital faces a shortage of over 400 MW of power every day, causing long hours of outages in several areas.