Millions suffer in power-starved Bihar

PATNA - Electricity has become a luxury for people in most parts of urban Bihar.

As the mercury soars above 43 degrees Celsius in Patna and many other places, people are opting for traditional cooling tools like hand fans to beat the heat.

“We are forced to live in the lantern age. Even a running fan is a luxury for us. There is hardly a night when we don’t use lanterns. Electricity fails us regularly,” a doctor in Gaya town, around 100 km from here, told IANS over telephone Tuesday.

Capital Patna is an exception of sorts. But most small towns and district headquarters are hit badly due to power shortage.

“If there is power at night, it is considered a gift since we can hope to sleep for at least a few hours,” said Shiv Shankar Prasad, another resident of Gaya.

Power shortages have sparked protests in several places in the state. Electricity offices have been attacked in towns while protest marches have been taken out.

An electricity department official, Hareram Pandey, said Bihar faced a deficit of more than 1,000-1,200 MW of power a day.

“It is a hard fact that Bihar faces a serious power crisis due to shortage of supply from the central grid,” he said.

Pandey told IANS that Bihar produced 100-120 MW a day from its two thermal power units at Barauni in Begusarai and Kanti in Muzaffarpur district. The state is dependent on central grid for power.

Bihar needs 2,200-2,500 MW of power a day but gets less than 900 MW from the central pool despite a daily allocation of 1,646 MW.

“The power situation is unlikely to improve in May,” an official of the state-owned Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) said. “So BSEB has no option but to buy electricity from the open market.”