THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Power shortage in the state sparked a heated debate in the assembly on Wednesday, with the Opposition blaming the UDF government’s lack of foresight for the crisis, and the latter accusing the previous LDF regime of failing to augment power generation in line with rising demand.
Moving an adjournment motion, CPI leader G R Anil said power cuts, which had been absent in Keralam for 10 years under LDF rule, had returned after UDF assumed office. Power Minister Sunny Joseph accused the LDF of spreading the false narrative that there had been no outage during its tenure.
Chief Minister V D Satheesan and Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan then joined the debate, with Pinarayi claiming that the LDF government had added 2,092 MW of power during its tenure. When Satheesan questioned the figure, Pinarayi clarified that it included power generated through solar installations and fed into the grid.
The two leaders then sparred over the cancellation of a long-term deal to procure electricity at `4.29 per unit. Pinarayi blamed the UDF for failing to fulfil the technical requirements when the agreement was initiated, leading to its annulment eight years later.
Satheesan said the deal had been cancelled at the instance of LDF nominees in the State Electricity Regulatory Commission and representatives of Left-affiliated trade unions.
The Opposition later staged a walkout after its demand to discuss the issue through an adjournment motion was rejected.
‘Desilting to restart by Dec-end or early Jan’
T’Puram: In what could help reduce flooding in the state, the government is planning to restart desilting processes in rivers by December end or early January, Revenue Minister A P Anilkumar told the assembly on Wednesday. “A meeting chaired by the chief minister had been conducted, and we hope to restart desilting by this period. A few processes are pending,” he said.
