Tarun Karthick
Port Blair, 30 November 2022
Mr. Vishal Jolly, National Executive Member, Bharatiya Janata Party was on a tour to the remote Islands of the Nicobar District recently. After returning from his tour, Mr. Jolly has now written a letter to the Chief Secretary highlighting the issues related to power supply, street lights, non-availability of generator etc. which is seriously affecting the lives of the Islanders living in Dering Island, Katchal Island, Teressa Island, Chowra Island, Champion Island & Pilpillow.
Mr. Vishal Jolly in his letter has highlighted that there is a complete blackout at Dering Island for the last four months because of which people are facing a lot of difficulties. Mr. Jolly has further mentioned that the generator from Dering Island has been transported to Port Blair months ago for repair and it is still kept at Port Blair.
Mr. Jolly also informed that in Sola Tekri Village of Katchal Island around 60-70 families have their houses, but hardly 3-4 houses have power supply. He also informed that in Meenakshi Ram Village, E-Wall and Sola Tekri village of Katchal Island there are no street lights.
Mr. Jolly also mentioned that in Teressa Island out of the two generators one generator developed faults around two years ago. He added that the other generator is used to supply power from 9:00 Am to 1:00 Pm and 6:00 Pm to 5:00 Am and for the rest of the day the Island faces complete blackout. Mr. Vishal Jolly also mentioned to the Chief Secretary that if the only generator currently functioning develops some issues then there will be a complete blackout in Teressa Island.
Mr. Jolly also highlighted the plight of the residents of Chowra Island who are hardly able to get 16-17 hours of power a day. Mr. Jolly informed that another DG Set of 125 KV would be required to provide an uninterrupted power supply.
Mr. Vishal Jolly also mentioned in his letter that in Champin Island power is supplied from 09:00 Am to 1:00 Pm and 6:00 Pm to 5:00 Am, but on weekends and on the days when schools are shut, power is not supplied during the day time at all. Street light is not available in any village and one generator out of the two has been kept at Port Blair for nearly two years for repair.
Mr. Jolly mentioned that in Pilpillow all street lights require replacement and around 20 Km of power cables are internally damaged and require immediate replacement. Official vehicles are non-functional due to which immediate repair works are not carried out.
Mr. Jolly mentioned that in Pilpillow all street lights require replacement and around 20 Km of power cables are internally damaged and requires immediate replacement. Official vehicles are non-functional due to which immediate repair works are not carried out.