Patna, (Bihar Times): The Bihar government accepted the
long-pending demand of the people of Kahalgaon under
Bhagalpur district––but not before the loss of about
half a dozen lives in January. On Sunday it accepted
the proposal of the Union government to allow the
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) at Kahalgaon
to directly distribute electricity to the areas within
a radius of 10-12 kms.
The decision follows the Union Minister of State for
Energy Jairam Ramesh’s two hour-long meeting with
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at the latter’s residence
with the proposal from the NTPC.
The chief minister said the state government agreed to
the NTPC’s proposal in the interest of the people of
Kahalgaon. Official sources said the NTPC proposed to
cover areas within a radius of 10-12 kms from the
plant in the wake of the recent unrest in Kahalgaon.
It needs to be mentioned that several people lost
their lives in police firing at Kahalgaon on January
19 last when demonstrators seeking uninterrupted power
supply from the NTPC staged sit-in at the gate of the
plant. The following day police carried crack down on
the local people killing one and injuring another. The
police action sparked off protests by opposition
parties in Bihar which demanded resignation of chief
minister.
Meanwhile, Jairam Ramesh directed the authorities to
start preparations for supplying power to Kahalgaon
without delay. He also said that the construction of
the NTPC plant at Barh was moving at a slow pace due
to some problems of the Russian company, which was
assigned the job. However, it would soon be
accelerated.
