OUR CORRESPONDENT
TINSUKIA: Erratic power supply to tea gardens in Tinsukia district has assumed such a proportion that many tea gardens have been facing loss of productivity, besides mechanical breakdown of tea machinery. While APDCL (Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd) Dibrugarh contended that the power supply was higher and satisfactory, than as projected by the Assam Branch of Indian Tea Association (ABITA), the ABITA, on the other hand, placed a day-to-day record of power interruption in several tea gardens. This blatantly nullified APDCL's claim.
In a letter to the General Manager, Dibrugarh Zone of UAR APCDL, the secretary of ABITA Zone-1 Dibrugarh, Madhurjya Barooah stated that tea gardens in large numbers were facing the brunt of power interruptions in the past two months. Bogapani encountered the highest number of power cuts with 371 and 437 times in July and August respectively, followed by Dirak and Namdang and other tea gardens like Margherita, Itakhooli, Sri Krishna, Dehing, Digulturrung, Tara, Rungagora, Dirok, Jaipur, Langharjan, Basmatia, Thanai, Dikom, Madhuban and Greenwoods. Besides, 24 others faced power interruptions more or less in lesser proportions.
Barooah also said that power availability recorded at Baghjan, Desam, Hattialli, Rajahalli, Mahakali, Maud, Thanai, Basmatia, Madhuban and Digulturrung TEs in July, 2020 had been as low as 65 per cent, 47.31 per cent, 59.17 per cent, 65.53 per cent, 68 per cent, 69.35 per cent, 17.54 per cent, 65.71 per cent, 59.25 per cent and 65 per cent respectively.
The General Manager, APDCL, in a letter to ABITA on August 31, 2020, had assured to provide 100 per cent power availability as the Tea sector was a valued consumer of the APDCL.
Also Watch: Smuggled Timber seized in West Karbi Anglong