With every passing year the number of Durga Pujas in the state is increasing and so is the demand for more power, said power minister Aroop Biswas today, while announcing the measures the government is taking ahead of the pujas.
Aroop Biswas (photo:X)
With every passing year the number of Durga Pujas in the state is increasing and so is the demand for more power, said power minister Aroop Biswas today, while announcing the measures the government is taking ahead of the pujas.
Speaking at the state power department headquarters, Vidyut Bhawan, the minister also announced that the department is adding another feather in the WBSEDCL cap by adding a WhatsApp number for the consumers, 8433719121. This number will serve multiple purposes like providing bill information, copy of the bill, payment receipt downloading facility, application for new connection and many more.
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The minister said that the department is apprehending around 49,000 puja committees applying for connections at WBSEDCL this year. This, he said, is keeping in mind the spike in the number of pujas around the state every year.
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The minister, quoting figures from the earlier years, said in 2011 the number of pujas were 20,970, which went up to 47,275 last year. Similarly, the demand for power in 2011 was just 210 MW, which went up to 1,107 MW last year. The demand of power for temporary connections during pujas from 2011 to 2023 went up by 427 per cent.
Keeping in mind that last year, the highest consumption of power was on Chaturthi, 9,252 MW, the department is expecting around 10,400 MW poer consumption this year.
Minister Aroop Biswas said that 3,378 mobile vans will be operational during the pujas season. There will be 72,531 officers on duty, including officers. Two control rooms at Vidyut Bhawan would be working 24×7 during the festive season, which had been working for last two months due to the man-made floods.
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