Heated debates are there regarding the division of Kerala State Electreicty Board into three or four companies. The Power Minister and the Chief Minister are deadly against the splitting of the board. This approach is rather aimed at political objectives than any advantage to common people. The entire consumers of the state and even the High Court keep displeasure at the manner in which the Kerala State Electricity Board is distributing and supplying electricity. People are faced with power shutdown in their locality several times a day and hence they lost the patience of reporting the same to Board authorities. It is to be asserted that the service of the Board is far from satisfactory and is rather dangerous to human life. The latest episode in Kadakkarappally ward number I, Cherthala, where a woman was charred to death only because of the insensitivity of the Board men is a pointer.
The board and its workers need to apply their mind in this regard to improve the distribution and supply of electricity or atleast to make it safer that what it is. What on the earth urges them to take protest against Central Government directives to divide the Board into one or two companies? It is a pity that officers and employees of the Board are not complying strictly with the electricity Act and Rules. They only care distribution system when there is natural calamity. And at other times they simply waste time under the presumption that electricity will automatically flow from high potential to low potential where no attention from the board employee is needed. A random check of the transformers should reveal that fuses were missing in many of them and electricity connection had been made directly which could be very dangerous to human life and property. The stay wires are tied without insulator couplings.
The Board could become profitable and a financially viable organization if managed properly. But undue influence of politics has turned it into Aegean shack. The board has taken no sincere measures to check the hefty revenue loss to it by way of electricity thefts. There are private business establishments having the strong patronage of political leaders belonging to both ruling and opposition parties to cheat KSEB to make it a loser. Until and until measures are taken, the KSEB will not survive from its present disarray. The division into companies is of course a panacea for the ailing Board.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
About Me
Blog Archive
-
▼
2008
(57)
-
▼
September
(12)
- There was protocol violation
- Victims of tsunami forgotten
- Weil's disease in Alappuzha
- What prevents the division of KSEB into companies?
- Preserve communal harmony
- Attack on Christians.
- Indian Financial Market
- Existing law good enough
- Anti-terror actionSir,BJP’s prime ministerial cand...
- Church-Baby new fight.
- Yet another TV channel for Kerala
- SEZ is not inevitable in Kerala
-
▼
September
(12)
1 comment:
The unfortunate thing about KSEB and electricty sector in kerala is that , while the organized minority of officers and unionized workers get to shout from the top of the roofs and media propoganda on how bad it is to break up the electricty board and how the next step is going to be privatization and sale to ambanis, tatas etc, the normal common man hardly had an opinion. The pathetic state of the electricity system in a state with highest literacy, 100% of kids gojng to school, almost every house using an electric appliance like TV/fridge/fan/mixie is appalling. And if anyone in KSEB says that we are better than orissa/Up etc, then my reply is my friend, please compare kerala not with these poor state s where 80% of households still doesnt have electricty. kerala - rural or urban deserves service levels compared to places like mumbai or delhi at the least. Even in the marxist bengal it is noteworthy that calcutta electrcity supply is done by a private company and kokatand get 24X7 supply but more than 70% of rural houses are unelectrfied. See the farce..in kerala too cities like trivandrum or cochin get supply at the expense of rural people. Kerala has not invested in a new major power station for last 10 years, the status of maintenance is seen from the breakdowns and accidents not only in the lines , even in a major power station , leading to death of employees. While privatization might not be a solution immediaately, deregulation of transmission atleast is required for atleast the major customers to have a choice of wheeling power. There should be a public audit of performance of KSEB before any restructuring. But by crying "sokaryavalkarananam" officers associations are hiding away from any scrutiny of perfromance and are trying to convince people that they and they alone are the saviors. But for us common people whose expectations on service are dependnet on our experience of only KSEB style, hopw can we compare ? Today we can look at BSNL/Airtel/Idea and say who is better for our requirments, hope that kind of scenario happens on electricty/bus service etc too, if not immediately at least in sometime. And then let them not get the chance to hide under the umbrella that "we are public sector, owned by public, for the public, paid by public..so we will treat the public as we wish"
Post a Comment