Power pilferage must be checked: Min
ALIGARH: Uttar Pradesh power minister Shrikant Sharma said on Sunday that the chief minister’s dream to electrify every house of the state would be realised only if energy theft was stopped.
Talking to media persons in Aligarh, he said, “CM Yogi Adityanath’s priority is to power up every village in UP, and every house in these villages. To achieve this, we have asked officials from all districts to send in their plans. Grants are also being released. But, we also have to work to stop power theft.”
Sharma, who is also MLA from Mathura, aded that officials concerned had been directed to identify places where large-scale pilferage of power was going on, and take suitable action.
Meanwhile, this being the power minister’s first visit to the city after taking charge of his portfolio, locals have high hopes. They expect to see various electricity-related issues, such as smooth distribution and accessibility of workers and officials, resolved. These issues are especially important for over 280 villages in the district that still don’t have proper power supply.
Village Nagla Turwali in Jalali area (Harduaganj) is one such example. It was electrified in 1998 but after a transformer blast in 2001, was plunged into darkness. Despite that, locals keep getting electricity bills. Villagers say they have approached power officials numerous times but nobody has taken any interest in the matter.
Another village, Nayabans, also remains without electricity supply. Resident, Parsadi Lal, said, “Nobody knows the pain of being without electricity more than we do.” Another villager Lilawati told HT, “I was married 13 years ago. All the electrical appliances that I got as part of dowry are still packed. Villagers have to go to Jalali just to charge their mobile phones.”
CM Yogi Adityanath’s priority is to power up every village in UP, and every house in these villages. SHRIKANT SHARMA, UP power minister