Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi protests outside Assembly over power crisis

Guwahati, September 11 (IANS) Assam opposition MLA Akhil Gogoi protested outside the Legislative Assembly on Monday against the state's power crisis on the the first day of the autumn session.

The Sivasagar MLA sat outside the new Assembly building in Dispur clutching a lamp and a handmade fan produced by the Assamese community in protest against the load shedding issue amid a severe heat condition.

Citing figures from the All India Electricity Statistics (General Review), Gogoi told reporters that Assam, comprising private and central sources, has a capacity to produce only 558.4 MW of electricity in 2023.

"Our state is only using 384 kilowatt hours of electricity today, while the other states are using more than 1,000 kilowatt hours," he said, adding that the Assam government actually has no actual plan to deal with the energy crisis. 

The MLA's protest comes as the people of Assam have been suffering constant power outages for the past few weeks, making their lives miserable due to the rise in mercury.

Meanwhile,Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had stated that the state's current energy needs exceed 2,500 MW.

He also visited Union Power Minister R.K. Singh in the national capital last week to inform him of the extraordinary 26 per cent rise in power demand brought on by the expansion of the economy's productive sectors.

According to Sarma, the Union Minister has promised him to provide Assam 300 MW of power to meet the current energy crisis.