Chandigarh March 17:
The Jat agitation has cost Haryana around Rs 65 crore following the closure of two thermal units at Khedar in Hisar due to non-supply of coal. The losses would mount further if the coal supply is not restored.
The agitators have blocked railways tracks in Hisar, Rohtak, Bhiwani and other places seeking Other Backward Classes status at the Central and State levels, which has disturbed the supply of coal to two thermal power units of the Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant at Khedar.
Speaking to The Pioneer, an official said that the two units, with a generating capacity of 216 lakh units of electricity per day, continued to be non-functional and this has caused loss of 6,528 lakh units in the past eight days. He said, “One unit generating an average 120 lakh units per day got closed on March 9 while another unit generating 96 lakh units per day was closed on March 10 due to non-supply of coal amid blocking of railway tracks by Jat agitators.”
“A total loss of Rs 65 crore so far is estimated as per Rs 4 per unit for the domestic customers but the per unit electricity price for commercial customers is higher,” added the official. Though the State Government has announced strict action against any loss of public property during the agitation, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has not been able to end the ongoing railway blockade causing huge losses to the railways and the State exchequer.
Haryana Director General of Police, Ranjiv Dalal on Wednesday appealed to the Jat agitators not to block railway tracks in the State in view of the interest of all citizens and get their issue resolved through negotiation. Congress MLA from Nalwa and senior politician Prof Sampat Singh also said that the agitation was causing huge financial loss to the State and the public exchequer and disruption of public life.
Though Union Home Minister P Chidambaram met the Jat delegation in New Delhi and sought three days’ time for further decisions, Jat leaders in Haryana have announced to continue the agitation and boycott the festival of Holi as well. Earlier in February this year, the Supreme Court had also asked the Central and Haryana Governments to recover losses estimated at Rs 34.41 crore caused during the 11-day agitation by Jats in January last month to protest the arrests of their community members allegedly involved in attack on Dalits in Mirchpur village.
The Railways had told the court that the agitation, which led to the disruption and diversion of trains on the Delhi-Ferozepur route, caused a loss of more than Rs 33 crore whereas the Haryana Government assessed the losses suffered by it due to the road blockade at nearly Rs 4.5 crore. Besides, the State had suffered the loss of Rs 90,000 on account of 3,130 trees of different varieties being cut at various points to block the roads during that Jat agitation in Jind, Hisar and Bhiwani districts.
The Jat agitation has cost Haryana around Rs 65 crore following the closure of two thermal units at Khedar in Hisar due to non-supply of coal. The losses would mount further if the coal supply is not restored.
The agitators have blocked railways tracks in Hisar, Rohtak, Bhiwani and other places seeking Other Backward Classes status at the Central and State levels, which has disturbed the supply of coal to two thermal power units of the Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant at Khedar.
Speaking to The Pioneer, an official said that the two units, with a generating capacity of 216 lakh units of electricity per day, continued to be non-functional and this has caused loss of 6,528 lakh units in the past eight days. He said, “One unit generating an average 120 lakh units per day got closed on March 9 while another unit generating 96 lakh units per day was closed on March 10 due to non-supply of coal amid blocking of railway tracks by Jat agitators.”
“A total loss of Rs 65 crore so far is estimated as per Rs 4 per unit for the domestic customers but the per unit electricity price for commercial customers is higher,” added the official. Though the State Government has announced strict action against any loss of public property during the agitation, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has not been able to end the ongoing railway blockade causing huge losses to the railways and the State exchequer.
Haryana Director General of Police, Ranjiv Dalal on Wednesday appealed to the Jat agitators not to block railway tracks in the State in view of the interest of all citizens and get their issue resolved through negotiation. Congress MLA from Nalwa and senior politician Prof Sampat Singh also said that the agitation was causing huge financial loss to the State and the public exchequer and disruption of public life.
Though Union Home Minister P Chidambaram met the Jat delegation in New Delhi and sought three days’ time for further decisions, Jat leaders in Haryana have announced to continue the agitation and boycott the festival of Holi as well. Earlier in February this year, the Supreme Court had also asked the Central and Haryana Governments to recover losses estimated at Rs 34.41 crore caused during the 11-day agitation by Jats in January last month to protest the arrests of their community members allegedly involved in attack on Dalits in Mirchpur village.
The Railways had told the court that the agitation, which led to the disruption and diversion of trains on the Delhi-Ferozepur route, caused a loss of more than Rs 33 crore whereas the Haryana Government assessed the losses suffered by it due to the road blockade at nearly Rs 4.5 crore. Besides, the State had suffered the loss of Rs 90,000 on account of 3,130 trees of different varieties being cut at various points to block the roads during that Jat agitation in Jind, Hisar and Bhiwani districts.
