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| Aid for Pakistan, not to Jammu Kashmir for tackling power crisis | | | Early Times Report
jammu, May 12: If there is anything common between Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir State it is acute power crisis leading to prolonged energy outages besides frequent breakdowns.
As far as the power crisis in Pakistan is concerned it has become so acute that Pakistan Muslim League (Q), a constituent of the ruling alliance in Islamabad, has threatened to quit the Government if it failed to tackle power crisis.
The PML(Q) leaders have berated Asif Ali Zardari led Government for its failure to narrow down the gap between availability and power demand. Reports said that there is a 50 per cent gap between electricity availability and demand in Pakistan.
The growing energy crisis has led to riots in various parts of Pakistan. There have been protest demonstrations in various cities and towns but the PPP led Government has no immediate solution in its kitty.
In Jammu and Kashmir the growing gap between availability and demand has led to prolonged load shedding. People suffer so do the sectors of industry and agriculture.
Interestingly, while Islamabad has been trying to rope in the World Bank and other developed Nations for financial assistance required for setting up major power plants that be in Jammu and Srinagar are seen selling ideas and dreams to people who feel highly uncomfortable with power playing hide and seek.
What a contrast? India has announced its willingness to export some electricity to Pakistan so that its neighbour was able to curtail the over 50 per cent gap between the demand and availability of electricity. And the same New Delhi has been quite miserly in coming to the rescue of people in Jammu and Kashmir who suffer a lot because of load shedding.
Is New Delhi more concerned about promoting cordial ties with Islamabad than ensuring painless and less difficult life for its people in Jammu and Kashmir ?
Apart from the developed Nations the World Bank has announced an ambitious plan of providing funds to the tune of one billion US dollars to Pakistan for setting up various power projects.
In Jammu and Kashmir the ruling coalition is more interested in getting back all the power projects that had been built by the NHPC and were being run by the NHPC than allowing the Corporation required support for ensuring optimum power generation.
In the State of Jammu and Kashmir the ruling coalition seems to be spending its money and energy on issues which have no direct bearing on power generation. It talks of E- metering without fulfilling its commitment of providing uninterrupted supply of electricity to localities where installation of electronic meteres had been completed.
At times it takes interest in setting up electricity regulatory authority and on other occasions the Government keeps on increasing the number of posts of chief, Superintending, Executive and Assistant engineers without any corresponding increase in power generation. And following protests from "power hungry" people the Government has hit on a novel idea of bifurcating the PDD. And in case the crisis worsened the Government may go in for trifurcation or vivisection of the PDD.
It is time for the Congress led UPA Government to initiate short term and long term measures for improving electricity availability and supply. Under the short term policy the Centre could increase the power supply quota to Jammu and Kashmir so that the gap between availability and demand was reduced to just 10 to 20 per cent.
Under the long term policy the Centre should directly invest in setting up small and micro power projects which may not invite any criticism from Pakistan which has been usually raising one hurdle or the other in the name of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960. Above all the Centre needs to crack the proverbial whip so that all the ongoing power projects in Jammu and Kashmir were completed as per the schedule. |
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