TIKAPUR, Jan 17: The declaration of Kathmandu Valley as a load shedding-free zone elated the residents of the capital but locals of various other parts of the country are still battling with this problem. Locals of Lamki took to the streets for the reduction of load shedding hours accusing the government that it is giving priority only to some places and neglecting others.
Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) published a new schedule for load shedding in Lamki, according to which there will be daily five hours of power cut. But when people realized that they had to remain in dark for 15 hours a day, they could not control their anger.
Lamki Brihatar Manch (LBM) organized a press conference on Monday to announce its protest programs against load shedding. Some entrepreneurs and business personalities of Lamki even accused the officials of NEA for conspiring to increase load shedding in their locality. Chairman of LBM and the Director of Dolphin Grain Industry, Surya Bahadur Thapa, said, “The state will be accountable for the consequences when people will come down to the streets.”
Some entrepreneurs are compelled to stay at home shutting their factories and industries due to load shedding. “We have been compelled to sit at home folding our hands and still there is no response from the government,” he added.
There are about a dozen of large scale industries in Lamki which have reached to the state of being shut down because of increased load shedding. Since two years, the entrepreneurs of Lamki are continuously requesting the government to optimize the capacity of electricity sub-station in Lamki. But they accuse the authority for not giving any attention to their demands despite their request.
The head of Thakur Baba Hatchery, Mahadev Bajgain, wants the government to slash the power cuts. He said he is really worried about losing a great amount of money that he has invested a lot in business. “Load shedding has really become a threat for our business,” Bajgain lamented.
Some locals even feel that the government has been neglecting Lamki, especially when they see the authorities taking effective actions to eradicate load shedding in so many other places. They have even accused the government for deducting the power supply in their area to reduce load shedding in other parts.
Ratan Thapa, director of Thapa Tile Industry, threatened the government that they will hit the streets in a violent way if this rumor is true. “We hope this is not true, but, if it is, we will have to fight for justice,” Thapa said.
Erratic power supply irritates Rupandehi locals
Due to load shedding, three Radio stations of Lamki are badly affected. Most of the times they remain off as there is no power to charge the battery. The managing director of Malika FM Ramesh Bajgain said, “In a place where radio is the most effective means of communication, it is so sad that we are not able to operate it properly due to load shedding.”
Locals are complaining that the government should give equal priority to all parts of the country. Some of them even said that it really breaks their heart when they hear the news of reduction in load shedding in other places.
