UKHRUL, Feb 26: With the power supply continuing to be littered with frequent interruptions during peak hours for months on end, the official time table of power cut/load-shedding has gone haywire in Ukhrul district.
It goes without saying that the primary purpose of making any rules is to ensure that they are adhered to and unless this happens, there is no point in creating them.
By the same token, it is pointless if the load shedding schedule fixed by the State Electricity department as per power allotment/availability for a certain period is not followed during power supply.
But this is exactly what is happening with electricity supply here in Ukhrul since the last many months.
And that the district experiences the highest number of power interruptions during peak hours compared to all other districts of the state has turned out not just a public complaint but also something the concerned department could not shrug off.
Admitting the dismal power supply in the district, SP Singh, executive engineer, Electricity department, Ukhrul Division told this correspondent that Ukhrul might be having the most power outages during normal supply hours compared to other parts of the state.
He, however, dismissed the common complaints that the rolling unscheduled power cuts are artificial and deliberately done by mischievous staff to make them look like technical failure.
“It might be due to load restrictions imposed to regulate power flow and not tampering by any staff,” he assumed.
Meanwhile, the frequent power cuts of 4/5 times during a 2 to 5 hour power supply have become a daily occurrence causing confusion among the public about the load shedding schedule.
Singh further disclosed that as per the time table, the target of power supply in the district is 6 to 9 hours on alternate days.
“But due to frequent interruptions during supply hours, there have been some power deficits each day,” he continued.
Presently, Ukhrul district is receiving power from the 33/11 KV Substation at Yaingangpokpi in Imphal. Most districts already have 132/33 KV Sub-station of their own except for Ukhrul whose power substation is currently under construction at Hungpung Cement Factory site.
Power situation would improve after completion of this new power sub-station which is expected to be operational by December this year, Singh had said.