New Delhi: P Chidambaram, the senior Congress politician, took a jab at the Centre today over severe power outages, claiming that the government has found the “ideal solution” to the problem, which is to cancel passenger trains and operate coal rakes.
On Friday, power shortages in various states persisted, with rising temperatures driving up demand for electricity, while opposition parties blamed the Centre for coal shortages at thermal plants.
Slamming the government over the issue, Mr Chidambaram said, “Abundant coal, large rail network, unutilised capacity in thermal plants. Yet, there is acute power shortage. Modi Government cannot be blamed. It is because of 60 years of Congress rule!”
“There is no incompetence in the Ministries of Coal, Railway or Power. The blame lies with past Congress ministers of the said departments!” he said.
“Government has found the perfect solution: cancel passenger trains and run coal rakes! Modi hai, mumkin hai,” the former Union minister said in a series of tweets.
The country’s peak power consumption hit an all-time high of 207.11 GW on Friday as a heatwave continued, and the railways cancelled 42 passenger trains to allow coal freight transportation, with the South East Central Railway (SECR) division covering the coal-producing regions canceling 34 trains.
The Aam Aadmi Party and Congress leaders blamed the Centre for the ongoing power crisis, alleging that logistical support for coal distribution to power plants was not provided.
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