Jaipur: The desert state of Rajasthan is boiling as the heatwave and power cut both have made life difficult. Heatwave conditions prevailing across the state with maximum temperatures have crossed the 45-degree Celsius mark in several districts and at the same time due to an increase in demand and shortage of supply of power the Rajasthan government has ordered power outages in the state.
Although the scorching heat is natural in Rajasthan this year it has started a bit early. The state is facing heatwave conditions since mid of the April and the mercury is constantly above the 40 degrees Celsius mark in most parts of the state.
Seven districts of the state recorded more than 45 degrees Celsius temperature on Wednesday, while the rest were also between 42-44 degrees celsius.
The Met department has predicted no respite from hot weather conditions and has issued an orange alert for most parts of southwest Rajasthan for the next four days.
Things have become more difficult with power cuts across the state. The state government has decided to reduce power supply by 5-6 hours in villages, 3 hours in towns, two hours in districts, and one hour at the divisional headquarters. The industries have been asked to reduce their power consumption by 50 per cent.
‘Due to the hot weather conditions, the demand for electricity in the state has increased by 35 per cent this year. The peak demand has also increased by 22 per cent. There is a difference of 3000 megawatts in demand and supply of electricity in the state as we are facing a shortage of coal and despite paying a high price we are unable to obtain electricity. Looking at the situation the government has to decide on a power cut,’ said energy minister Bhanwar Singh Bhati.
The thermal power plants of the state are facing an acute shortage of coal as only 13 per cent of coal is left for power generation.
‘The power crisis has worsened as a result of the Gehlot government's failure to take timely action and the party has decided to hold protest at power stations across the state on Friday against the power cut,’ said state BJP chief Satish Punia.
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