SHILLONG:
The Federation of Khasi Jaintia & Garo People (FKJGP) Garo Hills zone, on April 19, wrote to the Power Minister asking to re-evaluate the load-shedding hours in the state in the interest of the citizens.
President of FKJGP unit, Pritam Arengh, said that the extension of load-shedding from 7 hours to 10 hours in the entire Garo Hills region was a matter of injustice to tax paying citizens, adding that the step also posed a threat to life as the region is experiencing an unprecedented heatwave.
Arengh also stated that although voters elected public officials in the expectation of enjoying a high standard of living, the current state of affairs raises the possibility of a complete collapse, which leads one to believe that the government is attempting to ‘privatise’ the entire power sector of the country.
He added that never in the state’s history has load shedding amounted to seven, much less ten, hours a day. As per sources, load shedding in certain regions only lasts for up to 7-9 hours, which has led some to wonder if favouritism is at play—a thought that is undesirable given the state’s present political situation.
Further, the organisation requested the government to not resort to load-shedding for more than 2-4 hours and find other ways to generate additional power.