Unnecessary shutdowns and power cuts during Diwali will not

be tolerated: Energy Minister

Transformers must be upgraded immediately wherever required:

Arvind Kumar Sharma

Lucknow, Oct 29 (HS): The Uttar Pradesh government, under

the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has stepped up preparations

to ensure uninterrupted power supply across the state during Diwali, Chhath and

other festivals. State Urban Development and Energy Minister Arvind Kumar

Sharma has directed electricity department officials to ensure 24-hour power

supply throughout the festive period. He made it clear that Diwali is the

festival of lights and that unnecessary shutdowns and repeated power cuts will

not be tolerated.

AK Sharma said, Electricity connections must not be

disconnected in the name of recovering outstanding dues during festivals.

Large-scale and organised electricity theft must be identified and dealt with

strictly in accordance with the rules, while small consumers should not be

subjected to unnecessary harassment.

The Energy Minister directed officials to expedite the

disposal of pending applications for electricity connections on the Jhatpat

portal. He also instructed them to review rejected applications and improve the

system accordingly. He further emphasised that consumers who pay their

electricity bills regularly must not face tripping or power cuts because of

defaulters. Transformers must be upgraded immediately wherever necessary.

The Energy Minister also congratulated consumers on the 9.70

percent relief in electricity bills for November. Domestic, commercial and

other consumer categories will continue to benefit directly from this relief

for the fifth consecutive month.

Reviewing the electricity infrastructure in newly constituted

nagar panchayats, Minister AK Sharma directed officials to ensure uninterrupted

and quality power supply in these areas, on a par with district headquarters.

He said, The Urban Development Department was ready to provide additional

funds wherever required and called for expediting work to improve the

electricity infrastructure.

Principal Secretary, Energy, Ranvir Prasad; UPPCL Managing

Director Nitish Kumar; MD Mayur Maheshwari; and other concerned electricity

department officials attended the meeting.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi