Hyderabad: Telangana deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Wednesday said that the state has surplus electricity supply and claimed that there are no power cuts “even for a second”. He added that the Congress government will also bring out a new power policy soon.
Speaking at an event with bankers alongside agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, Bhatti Vikramarka said that free power is being supplied to agriculture sector for 24 hours. “Even in future if large scale industries were set up, there would not be any problem to supply required power,” the Telangana deputy chief minister stated.
His comments about power supply come at a time when citizens in Hyderabad have been complaining of irregular power cuts in Hyderabad in recent months due to various reasons. Earlier in May, a prolonged power outage at the Bhuvanagiri Government Hospital left patients and staff in darkness for several hours, forcing doctors to treat patients using mobile phone torchlight.
Similarly just two days ago during Bakrid, several citizens had a hard time when the power supply went off due to sudden rains. Moreover, the Congress government in Telangana is also currently investigating the power deals struck with Chhattisgarh during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government under ex-Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR). The Congress, after coming to power, set up a commission headed by retired judge Justice L Narasimha Reddy to conduct an inquiry into the deals.
Telangana DyCM addresses issues of power, loans to the poor
Aside from power issues, speaking at the annual credit plan of bankers, Telangana Dy CM Vikramarka also addressed concerns about poverty and said that bankers should adopt a social and humanitarian attitude.
The Telangana deputy chief minister said that banks should extend loans on a large scale to MSME and large-scale industries. “The industrial sector provided large-scale employment in the state and the country. The state will achieve integrated development only by extending loans to weaker sections,” said Bhatti Vikramarka.
He stated that normally when banks release loans, there would be a delay in the release of subsidy amount, but in Telangana, there is a reverse situation. “Though private banks were achieving targets, national banks were lagging in this regard. It is not proper to bring down the number of branches of national banks. Bankers should come forward to give loans not only to big industrialists but also to the poor and middle classes,” he added.
