By IANS,
Chandigarh : Punjab’s Deputy Chief Minister and Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal is literally far removed from the harsh, high temperature and powerless woes of the people of the state as he is holidaying abroad with his family.
With the temperature constantly remaining over 40 degrees Celsius for the last few days and not a trace of rainfall, people in the state are facing one of the harshest summers in recent years.
With the merciless heat wave, many people are trying to stay indoors unless it is absolutely necessary to move out for work. With schools being already shut for the summer vacations, children are also being forced to stay indoors.
In most cities and towns of the region, temperatures have remained between 42 and 45 degrees Celsius in the last few days.
Sales of cold drinks, bottled water, ice creams and the locally-made “matka-kulfi” have picked up this month owing to the heat wave.
“It is not the summer alone. The state government seems to have completely failed to wake up to the power crisis. We suffer power cuts ranging from 8 to 14 hours everyday. It is like living in hell. Not everyone can go abroad for a holiday like Badal junior,” pointed out homemaker Sukhpreet Kaur of Patiala.
Badal took time off for his family holiday, presumed to be in Thailand but not officially confirmed by anyone, just days ahead of his imminent resignation as the state’s deputy chief minister since he has failed to get elected to the Punjab assembly within six months of being sworn in as his father Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s deputy Jan 21 this year.
Common people in the state are wondering what happened to his grand promises of making Punjab a power surplus state within three years of the Badal government assuming power in March 2007.
“They have been in power for over two years and four months and there is no sign of ending the power supply woes. The Akalis have been making a fool of the people,” Congress activist Rajwant Singh of Ludhiana said. Ludhiana is 100 km from here.
With power crisis firmly in place across Punjab, people are facing water woes too.
“We get minimal water supply. It is a hand-to-mouth existence for us,” businessman Dinesh Mittal of Bathinda said.
It is not the domestic and commercial sectors which are facing the brunt of the power crisis. The industry and farm sectors are equally badly hit in this progressive state.
“The government has imposed a complete ban on functioning of furnaces across Punjab. The steel industry is the worst hit. Why single us out for this treatment?” asked a leading steel industrialist from Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab’s steel town, 60 km from here.