Chandigarh, August 3
While the Punjab State Electricity Board today withdrew all sorts of power cuts imposed on industry and domestic sector in rural and urban areas, the state government today restored the normal timings of government offices and shops in all parts of Punjab. Even the ban on the use of airconditioners has been lifted.
These steps have been taken in view the heavy rainfall that resulted in tremendous improvement on the power front in various parts of the state. The PSEB authorities, which reviewed the power situation today in the light of the heavy rain, said that even three-phase power supply to the domestic sector has been restored in rural areas with immediate effect. All categories-day and night- of tubewells were being given full power supply in the areas where it is needed.
Except Amritsar, Jalandhar, Bathinda and Moga, reports of moderate to heavy rainfall have come other parts of the state. However, there was a light drizzle in Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur areas, according to Agriculture Department reports.
Contrary to heavy rainfall in the plains, there seems to be less rainfall in the catchment area of the Gobind Sagar reservoir in Himachal Pradesh. The inflow of water in Gobind Sagar today was 34,000 cusecs, almost the same that was yesterday and day before. However, during the corresponding period last year, the inflow was in the range of 60,000 cusecs during the first three days of August. The water level in Gobind Sagar at Bhakra Dam recorded today was 1544.04 feet against the last year's figure of 1631.68 on this day. In the past three days, the rise in the reservoir's level is almost 2 feet each day.
A spokesman of the Punjab Government today said that the timings of the government offices and also of boards and corporations would be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m henceforth. And the timings to open shops in urban areas would be 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.. Earlier, restrictions imposed on the timings of these organisations had been lifted with immediately effect, he added.
The PSEB authorities said that the national power grid had become surplus following widespread rain in the region. And because of it, high frequency power was available to Punjab now at the cheapest rates, say even below Rs 2 per unit, while earlier the same was available at Rs 3.70 to Rs 4.80 per unit. Power rates fall immediately when the national grid becomes surplus.
The PSEB authorities said that they would stabilise power supply in the coming days to industrial sector which suffered a lot in the past few weeks because of diversion of power from this sector to
farmers. If the wet weather continued for some more days and power situation improved further, then the PSEB could even think to shut its power thermal plants, which remained over- burdened for several weeks, to generate power to cater to the needs of the state for a few days and can avail cheaper power that is available from the national pool. Thermal power costs over Rs 2 per unit.
Rain has virtually saved the PSEB from collapsing. It had to daily buy power in the range of Rs 20 crore to save the paddy and other kharif crops. And it had to divert power from the industrial sector, that is paying highest revenue to the board, to the agriculture sector, which is getting power at lowest rates.
Dr Ajmer Singh, Director, Agriculture, Punjab, said that his officials in the field were keeping a watch on the emerging situation, especially in the areas where reports of heavy rain came today.
He said that the transplantation of basmati would only be possible once the situation normalises in the districts like Patiala from where heavy rain had been reported. He said that earlier it was drought and now it was heavy rainfall that had become a cause of worry.
