The Hindu : Power crisis hits water supply in Bijapur Dt.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 20, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Power crisis hits water supply in Bijapur Dt.

By Our Staff Correspondent

BIJAPUR JUNE 19. Apart from affecting industrial and agricultural activities, the disruption in power supply has hit drinking water supply in urban and rural areas of the district. The quota for Bijapur Division of Hubli Electricity Supply Company (Hescom) that covers most of the taluks in Bijapur and Bagalkot districts has been reduced to 75 MW, which is less than one-third of the demand. While rural areas are getting power only for four hours a day, urban centres are receiving it for 13 to 14 hours.

Though the State Government had announced that there would be power cut for only five hours in urban areas, Hescom is finding it difficult to maintain supply even for 14 hours. People in urban areas are facing an eight-hour power shutdown during the day. The situation in Bijapur is no better. It receives power for four hours only - two hours each in the morning and in the afternoon. Bijapur has been divided into three zones, and each of them gets two-hour power supply on rotation. Even in the evening, there is unscheduled load shedding ranging from 30 minutes to an hour depending on the directions from the load dispatch centre in Bangalore.

The Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (Gescom) covers Sindagi Subdivision. But a snag in the feeder line between Sindagi and Gulbarga has put additional burden on the Bijapur Division. Nearly six MW of power is being supplied to Sindagi from Bijapur, and this has affected the schedules of the division.

R.A. Patil, Executive Engineer, said power supply, at least for six hours, would be restored in Bijapur once the additional burden on the division eased. Supply to Sindagi from Gescom was likely to be restored in two days. People of Bijapur used to get water once in five days, but now they are happy if they get it once a week.

Sources in the city municipal council said the water level in the Kolhar barrage across the Krishna from where water was supplied to Bijapur, was 1.1 metres. There would not be any scarcity for the next 40 days. But erratic power supply had upset pumping schedules. However, the sources expressed the hope that they would be able to restore normal supply once the power situation improved.

Many small-scale industrial units, especially those without generators, have declared a temporary holiday in the wake of erratic power supply.

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