Chennai, Apr 21 (IANS): Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder leader Dr S. Ramadoss has warned the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (Tangedco) to bring an end to the regular power cuts in the state.
He called upon the Tamil Nadu electricity minister to take steps to reduce the regular power cuts and to regularise the power supply in the state. In a statement on Thursday, Dr. Ramadoss said that on Wednesday, the state experienced power cuts at regular intervals and called upon the government and the Tangedco to find a solution to this vexed issue. The PMK leader said that the party will have to resort to protests if the government and Tangedco sort out the issue and to prevent further power cuts.
The PMK leader said that due to unscheduled power cuts students who are preparing for examinations and farmers who depend on power are gravely affected.
Ramadoss said: "The state electricity minister has said that the non-availability of 750 MW of power from central generating stations is the reason for the power cut. It may be true but it is the responsibility of the state electricity board to prepare for such unexpected situations and ensure uninterrupted power supply."
The PMK leader also said that Tamil Nadu was not a power surplus state and not self-sufficient in power generation. He said that the state was dependent on private power producers as well as central generating stations for the power requirements of the state.
The senior leader wanted the government to bring in alternate sources of electricity generation and demanded that the state be self-sufficient in power generation.
Dr Ramadoss said that the country was facing an acute coal shortage and added that the state government must find alternate ways to generate and distribute power.
In a related development, Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) leader Kamal Haasan in a statement called upon the state government to make alternative arrangements to the power crisis faced by the people of Tamil Nadu. He said that there is a major shortage of coal in the country and asked the power minister of Tamil Nadu to be prepared to face a shortage of power as the state was depending on private power producers and Central generations.