Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 14: Minister for Power Development, Sunil Kumar Sharma today instructed the engineers of the department to take concerted steps for minimizing curtailment and power breakdowns in the prevailing scorching weather conditions.
“J&K has achieved major feat in augmentation and strengthening of transmission and distribution network and the people should get the benefits of the same,” the Minister directed the engineers after inaugurating upgraded receiving stations at Gajansoo and Kanachak.
MLA Marh Ch Sukhnandan Kumar was also present at the inaugural function.
The Minister cautioned the officers against unscheduled power cuts and asked the engineers to work tirelessly to provide relief to the people during the peak summer season.
Reiterating that the Government is committed to extend full benefits of schemes to the targeted people, the Minister asked the department to expedite the process for implementation of centrally sponsored scheme Soubhagya which envisages for providing free power connections to poor households in both rural and urban areas. He also asked the engineers to pay special focus on maintenance of machines and cleanliness at all power installations.
On the occasion, Minister also interacted with the local people who apprised him about the problems they face due to unscheduled power cuts.
MLA Sukhnandan Kumar, while speaking on the occasion said that about 20000 population of the area will be benefited by the upgradation of transformers. He further said that it will bring a great relief to the locals from the unscheduled power cuts during peak summer season.
Earlier, the Minister was informed that the receiving station Gajansoo has been upgraded from 6.3 MVA to 10 MVA at an estimated cost of Rs 62 lakh, while the receiving station at Kanachak has been upgraded from 3.5 MVA to 6.3 MVA at an estimated cost of Rs 10 lakhs.