The long list of VIP constituencies in UP that get uninterrupted power grew a little longer on Monday. Even while the spat over the power situation in Uttar Pradesh between the UP government and the newly formed BJP government at the Centre continues, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday issued an order to provide 24-hour power supply to Varanasi, which is now Prime Minister Narendra Modi?s parliamentary constituency.
The chief minister directed the MD of Purvanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam, AP Mishra to ensure that Varanasi gets uninterrupted power supply. This decision came after the CM met the seven-time BJP MLA from Varanasi South, Shyamdeo Roychaudhury, who had been on a hunger strike over the issue since May 27 demanding rostering-free status for Varanasi.
Roychaudhary went on an indefinite hunger strike since last Tuesday after his letter to Uttar Pradesh chief minister and the managing director of UP Power Corporation Lucknow, informing them about the power shortage in the city and the problems that the people are facing due to it, bore no fruit.
Stating that Varanasi was getting about 12-14 hours of power only, Roychaudhry said that apart from regular power cuts, the UPPCL did not supply them power for hours saying that there has been a break down or a shut down. ?Due to the shortage of power supply, the tube wells are not able to work and as a consequence, there is a severe scarcity of water in the district,? he said, adding that now that Varanasi is the parliamentary constituency of the prime minister, the state government should make the city free from power cut just like some other districts in the state which have been bestowed with the same privilege.
Interestingly, in the day before Varanasi and Azamgarh went to the polls on May 12, the UP government ordered 22 hours of power to both these districts instead of the usual 18 hours. However, while the order continued to hold for Azamgarh, from where SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav contested and won, the situation worsened for Varanasi.
Among the other VIP districts which get uninterrupted power in the state are Rae Bareli, which is Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s constituency, Amethi, which is Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s constituency, Etawah, Mainpuri and Kannauj, which are the Yadav clan’s pocket boroughs and Rampur, which is SP leader Azam Khan’s seat.
It may be mentioned that with summers peaking, large parts of Uttar Pradesh has been suffering from 12-14 hours blackout and this has caused a also caused a squabble between the state government and the Centre. While the peak demand for power in the state is nearly is 14000 mw, the availabity is only between 11,000 to 11,500 mw.