To ensure judicious use, move beyond rhetoric For the past two days, three districts of Jammu region viz., Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch have been facing severe power crisis after a major fire broke out in one of the transformers in Grid Power Station Gladni in Narwal on Wednesday night on account of some technical snag as initially was maintained by the minister. Immediately after the fire incident, besides attaching 8 officials for negligence, judicial inquiry was ordered by the concerned minister on the pretext that this was the second incident of its kind. Yet this step can certainly be no solution to this crisis or the problems being faced by the masses. Since Gladni Power Station with the capacity of 400 MVA in Narwal is the mother Grid station feeding supply to the most of the areas in Jammu division so the power supply of almost eighty percent of Jammu city, its outskirts besides Rajouri and Poonch districts was virtually snapped. Given the extent of damage to the transformers, the repairs were still on and the power supply could not be resumed fully even after two days. Going by the versions of the minister and concerned officials, it may take few more days even a month to fully restore the power supply in the affected areas. For the time being there shall be net shortfall of power supply to the extent of 160 MVA thus the rotation curtailment on round the clock basis in various time slots to the extent of 10-12 hours a day is being effected. To tackle the crisis, the Minister of State for Power Babu Singh has appealed the masses to use the power judiciously. However the appeal would continue to be rhetoric till those at the helm of affairs themselves adhere to this golden rule with all sincerity and emerge as an ideal example to be emulated by the masses. This has always been an irony that the ministers and the concerned department officials off and on issue long-winded statements and advertisements and give sermons urging the public consumers not to waste the power and prescribing the ways and means to use it judiciously but when it comes to their own conduct, the records of Power Development Department (PDD) stare in disdain. Infact the judicious use of power is warranted not just during emergency conditions. This practice should be adhered to even during normal circumstances. But it is no secret that whether it is the matter of payment of power dues or its judicious consumption, in both the cases the VVIPs including the ministers and bureaucrats are the major defaulters or wrongdoers.