Assam CM asks power dept to set up control room to check

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal directed the state power department on Saturday to set up a central control room to monitor technical faults, in an effort to bring in efficiency and plug disruption in supply.

A central control room needs to be established to quickly zero in on faults and take corrective steps for the restoration of power, the chief minister said while reviewing schemes and services of the Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) and the Assam Power Generation Company Ltd.

"During the monsoon season, due to torrential rain, several electrical installations develop technical snag leading to disruption of electricity supply but a central control room will be able to map the entire network and figure out the technical snag, if any, and help the men on duty to rectify the fault," he said.

He also asked the concerned authority to carry out an extensive survey of the vulnerable points across the state and take remedial measures to avoid accidents and deaths due to electrocution, particularly during the floods.

Sonowal also asked the APDCL to put up transformers on high raised platforms especially in the flood-prone areas and to design innovative measures to save these from incessant rain-induced problems.

He also reviewed the 'Mukhya Mantri Akashdeep Yojana', and asked the department to expeditiously distribute LED bulbs to all the beneficiaries in the state.

The chief minister directed the department's Principal Secretary Niraj Verma to take steps for filling up vacancies expeditiously.

He also asked Verma to install individual meters in all the households in the tea garden areas and do away with cluster meters.