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| Hello, Bijli hai…so goes the conversation | | | Gareeb Das
Jammu | July 31
Whenever women talk to their friends or relations, these days, on telephone the main topic they seem to discuss endlessly is the "Bijli position”.
Instead of usual greetings the conversation starts with "Did you have power during the night?""Yes the two-hour schedule in power was strictly maintained but we had no electricity during the day," says the voice on the other end of line. Since women have better memory power than men they dish out hour by hour picture on the power cuts. Others discuss the menace of supply of power on a single phase.
They giggle when the two exchange notes on the minus points of single phase supply." We have to switch off the refrigerator, television and even the ceiling fan runs erratically," one is seen telling her friend on the phone. The other is seen making her relations laugh over the way power supply has been playing hide and seek. How? "It comes, goes, comes again and goes again within minutes" explains one dismayed consumer.
Power supply is on the top of the agenda. And when the callers and listners spend their energy on divulging on the erratic power supply scenario they start abusing power engineers and the Government. They are seen blaming every political party. They do not blame the separatists because they have never formed a Government in the state.After the power, comes the topics related to the availability of various consumer items.And when the two friends pick up their conversation they are heard cursing Governor N.N.Vohra and former Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, for having engineered revocation of the land order which was greeted with Bandhs and violence in Jammu. The two friends are angry and feel dismayed because their kids have not been taking their meals properly in protest against the non availability of ice creams and candies.
It is no longer politics that is being discussed on telephones these days. The usual topic is whether one has been able to get vegetables, fruit and milk for their family members or not. Many keep on complaining about poor supply of these items. A large number of people seem to have felt inconvenienced because of non availability of mutton, chicken, cheese and fast food items as the vendors have closed their establishments in support of the Bandh call.
From erratic power supply and nonavailability of fruits and vegetables the conversation gets confined to the depressing situation in the water supply system. A large number of people have been inconvenienced on account of meager drinking water supply forcing people to sip water instead of gulping a glass or two at a stretch. Again the conversation moves from chicken and cheese to cooking gas cylinders which too are in short supply after the dealers have neither been able to bring the refilled cylinders from the factories nor have they been in a position to open their shops.
It is no longer politics of Obama,or Parvez Musharraf or Manmohn Singh or Vohra,or Mufti Sayeed,or Farooq Abdullah or Ghulam Nabi Azad it is only the politics of power and water that are being discussed by people whether on morning or evening walks or on the telephones. Long conversation on phones and BSNL, Airtel and Aircell need to feel jubilant as their revenues are likely to touch a new record. |
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