Caretaker chairman, ADC Sadar Hills Haokholal Hangshing on Tuesday stated that the people should shun the mentality of getting unauthorised power connections as such practices cause various problems to the legally connected power consumers and the department as well.
He was speaking as the as chief guest at Bijli Mahotsav and Ujala Diwas which was widely celebrated on Tuesday at Charhajare Community Hall in Kangpokpi district, on the occasion of the celebration of ‘Ujjwal Bharat, Ujjwal Bhavishya’ under ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Power@2047’ organised by MOP and MNRE, Government of India in association with state government.
Haokholal Hangshing appealed to the people to practice the correct and proper usage of power, billing and energy efficiency in the larger interest of all.
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The celebration marked the four-year anniversary of successfully providing access to electricity infrastructure to all villages under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY).
It is worth recalling that Leisang village in Kangpokpi district was the last village to be connected to the grid under the DDUGJY scheme on April 28, 2018.
Haokholal continued that electricity is one of the basic needs of the people which the government has been providing even to the remotest part of the country but there are many instances where people fail to utilise it properly.
He strongly emphasised the proper and correct ways of using power. “We have the habit of switching on power all day and night even when it is not needed, not knowing the adverse impacts,” he added.
Films on universal household electrification, village electrification, distribution system strengthening, capacity addition, one nation one grid, renewable energy, and consumer rights were also telecasted on the occasion.
At the event, beneficiaries of the DDUGJY scheme were invited on stage to share their experience while various cultural programmes such as Nukkad natak were also displayed on the occasion.
The key achievements and the unprecedented growth shown by the power sector over the past few years were also highlighted in the event.
Thanglalsam, DGM, MSPDCL Kangpokpi said that the Manipur State Power Distribution Company Limited has successfully implemented several development and reform works in the power sector over the past few years.
He said that 2,333 Kms of 11 KV line, 9,150 Kms of LT Line (AB Cable) were added in the last five years while as many as 223 census villages were newly electrified through the grid in the last five years.
He continued that in the year 2012, Manipur was the pioneer in introducing prepaid metering systems to the electricity consumers in India and as of 2022, 4.1 lakhs of the total 5.06 lakh consumers have installed prepaid meters. The state government targets the completion of installing prepaid meter works by December this year through MSPDCL, he added.
With the successful introduction of the prepaid metering system, the overall revenue collection has been tremendously improved as revenues surging from Rs. 176 crore in financial year 2016-2017 to Rs 397 crore in financial year 2021-2022.
DC Kangpokpi Kengoo Zuringla, various CSOs leaders, students and officials from the district administration, and MSPDCL also attended the function while the event culminated with a vote of thanks from group senior manager (Mechanical), NHPC Dhananjay Kumar Mushahary.
