Sidhu attacks Amarinder on Punjab’s ‘power crises’
The Hindu
No need to impose power cuts, if action is taken in the right direction, he says
At loggerheads with Punjab Chief Minister Captain (retd.) Amarinder Singh, his former Cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday yet again fired shots at the Chief Minister about the ongoing ‘power crises’ in the State. In a series of tweets titled, “Truth of power costs, cuts, power purchase agreements and how to give free and 24-hour power to the people of Punjab”, Mr. Sidhu said there was no need of imposing power cuts in the State, if there’s action in the right direction. Pointing out that Punjab is buying power at average cost of ₹4.54 per unit while the national average is ₹3.85 per unit, Mr. Sidhu said that Punjab’s over-dependence on three Private Thermal Plants at ₹5 to ₹8 per unit makes Punjab pay more than other states.A crowd comprising farmers, researchers, professors, students, and horticulture enthusiasts thronged the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru, on Friday for the inaugural ceremony of the Triphal Diversity Show which showcased 300 mango, 100 jackfruit, and 100 banana genotypes in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli.
The State government on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director-General of Police, Manish Kharbikar of the Economic Offences division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the alleged multi-crore scam in the government-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.