Patna, Oct. 24: This Diwali and Chhath, the power won’t trip. Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) and Patna Electric Supply Undertaking (Pesu) have promised so ahead of the festivals.
“We provided uninterrupted power to the state capital during Durga Puja. Now, we have completed our preparations to supply uninterrupted power in Diwali and Chhath. Even if there is any interruption, power will be restored quickly by our officers,” Pesu general manager SKP Singh told The Telegraph.
To ensure unhindered power supply during Diwali and Chhath, its officials would keep tabs on the situation round-the-clock from its control rooms at its 10 divisions — New Capital, Patliputra, Dakbungalow, Gardanibagh, Danapur, Kankerbagh, Bankipore, Patna City, Rajendra Nagar and Gulzarbagh.
At present, Pesu’s control room works in two shifts — from 8am to 4pm and 4pm to midnight. But on the days of Diwali and Chhath, a third shift would be introduced between midnight and 6am. Personnel will be ready round-the-clock to attend to grievances of consumers.
Singh said: “We have completed most of our maintenance work during Durga Puja and do not need to lay special emphasis on preparations for Diwali and Chhath. We are getting adequate power to cater to the city’s needs during the festivals.”
Pesu has also promised co-operation for illuminated roads during the festivals, as it would provide Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) technical support in maintaining the streetlights.
On supplying power to around 25 Chhath ghats, Singh said special check-up drives would be launched to speed up maintenance work of the low-tension wires on the roads leading to the ghats from Digha to Patna City.
Recently, BSEB chairman P.K. Rai held a review meeting to take stock of the power situation for Diwali and Chhath and gave necessary directions to ensure round-the-clock supply.
The board spokesperson, H.R. Pandey, told The Telegraph: “Cent per cent efforts will be made to ensure uninterrupted power supply during Diwali and Chhath. We are getting adequate power to meet the demand.”
The state government has signed a short-term power purchase agreement with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam for supply of 300MW power for three months from September in addition to the central sector allocation from where the state gets around 1,100MW to 1,300MW power.
The city suffered from frequent power pangs before Durga Puja. At times, poor supply from the central grid led to power failure. On other occasions, snags in transmission lines triggered prolonged power cuts.
