Title - Vendors flay power cuts, rly authorities say must for development work

Amritsar : Even as a section of people and passengers were irked at the frequent power cuts at the local railway station since it hampered the routine work, the Railways authorities stated that the same was unavoidable to carry out development work for the convenience of the people.Since the LPG-run stoves and gases are prohibited at the railway station, the food vendors could not supply hot eatables to passengers, as their appliances are either electricity or battery-operated. Passengers complained that they did not get hot tea and snacks at the railway station and needed to go out to get these. The situation has been the same for nearly five days. Under the circumstances, microwave, automatic vending machines (AVMs), fridges and all other units are not running properly for want of electricity.Consequently, the vendors and shopkeepers incurred losses due to low sales, while they are to pay high rent to the Railways authorities.Assistant Electrical Engineer (AEE) of the Railways Ravi Kumar refuted the allegation and said that an electricity panel installed on the stairs of a footover bridge on platform number 1 was to be shifted to another location. He said the stairs had been lying closed for decades and to open these for the public, it was necessary to shift the electricity panel, which had been shifted to a room. He said it was not practically possible to keep the electricity off for long hours, as the railway station was receiving a large number of passengers being a holy tourist place.

Power hotline

The Railways authorities are working towards introducing the power hotline at the Amritsar railway station. Assistant Electrical Engineer (AEE) Ravi Kumar said after obtaining estimates from Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), the demand had been sent to the Railways headquarters. The PSPCL would charge Rs 28 lakh for establishing a dedicated hotline, which would resolve the fluctuation problem, power cuts and lower expenses on diesel.

It receives power supply from the Kirpal sub-station through 2x750 kv transformers. On a monthly average, the power substation consumes 3.50 lakh units of power, which is supplied to the railway station, railway quarters and allied facilities.