|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last week, I was in Jalandhar in connection with a television interview with Jalandhar Doordarshan. After the recording, the station Director Goverdhan Sharma invited me to his house for a candlelight dinner. Courtesy the Punjab State Electricity Board, candlelight dinners are in vogue in the state. When Goverdhan asked me to suggest some new programmes for the channel, I said keeping the present scenario in mind, why shouldn’t they have innovative programmes like "Cooking in the dark" or "Getting ready without the light", or "Preparing for exams in low voltage". A spark came into Goverdhan’s eyes, but it soon simmered down as he realised that he was there to head a government channel. Criticising the increase in power tariff, my friend H.M Singh, a businessman in Jalandhar, said, "The board has no right to increase the electricity tariff when there is no current in the lines for most of the time". I sympathised with him,
"Don’t worry. At least the electricity bills have sufficient
current to give you a heart attack." |
Punjab
is facing a power shortage of about 200 lakh units everyday. This may be
welcome news for those NRIs who want to set up candle industries in
Punjab. Those in the business of selling generator sets are also all
praise for the Punjab State Electricity Board. Salesmen dealing with
inverters, in spite of the heat outside, are roaming out with a
confident smile.