By IANS,
Lucknow : The ongoing power crisis in Uttar Pradesh threatens to cast a shadow over Durga Puja celebrations in the state. Many puja committees have decided not to hold grand functions due to the power shortage and some have even threatened not to perform the daily puja.
Nearly 100 puja committees in several districts, including Jaunpur, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Sitapur and Hardoi, have registered their protest with local MLAs and public representatives, threatening to pull the curtain on the Durga idols in the pandals (marquees).
“The office bearers of the puja committees are continuously mounting pressure on us,” Seema Dwiwedi, MLA from Garwara in Jaunpur district, told IANS over phone.
“They (puja committees members) have warned that if adequate power is not supplied to their pandals, they will have no other option than to wrap up,” she added.
Meanwhile, several puja committees in Mandiahu town in Jaunpur, some 250 km from Lucknow, Thursday closed their pandals to the public and held a protest against the inadequate power supply.
“On an average, we are getting just six-seven hours of power supply a day. In such a condition, how can one expect us to hold the grand function amidst glittering lights, loudspeakers and other paraphernalia,” said A.K. Sinha, general secretary of the Jagdamba Puja Committee in Jaunpur.
Echoing similar sentiments, Amit Kumar Ghosh of the Mahamaya Durga Puja Committee in Gorakhpur district, said: “At least in the festive season, the governmnet should have made certain arrangements for supplying additional power to pandals. In the wake of the power crisis, we are literally being forced to not hold the usual celebrations in the pandals.”
According to officials, after the Navratra started (Sep 19), during peak hours the demand for power has soared above 9,000 MW, while the availability is only around 6,500 MW.
During the Durga Puja festive season, there is demand for additional 500-600 MW power per day, which is not easy to meet as there is no surplus power available for purchase in the entire north India, officials said.
When contacted, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd director (distribution) Jawahar Lal, told IANS: “We are making every effort to solve the power crisis. We will also hold talks with the puja committee members in this regard.”