Few in the music industry have influenced generations, both past and present, like Lennon. In his brief life – especially as a Beatle –Lennon generated profound impact that went beyond thrilling millions with his music. In so many ways, for Lennon the words to his songs represented politics. The easiest example is Imagine –a utopian anthem for global peace. So when he sang Power to the people, it is safe to suppose that Lennon intended it to be a political slogan as well. And more than four decades later, the sentiments of the song still find resonance across the globe today.
Now that the summer season is here in Nagaland, the people of the state are desperate for a different kind of power. Not that it is any different during other seasons, but the desperation is much more acute in the summer. Our Eastern Mirror cartoonist framed the misery of the situation perfectly in our Wednesday edition. Yes, it is the season of power-cuts and misery. The people of Nagaland have been singing this version of the song for as long as one can remember. Newspaper columns, year after year, have been submerged with the sufferings of the people accompanied by calls to improve the power situation in Nagaland. This, however, has failed to strike any chord with those in power.
According to the annual administrative report of the department of power (2015-16), the peak demand of the state currently stands “restricted” at 145 MW. From November to June, it climbs down to 90 MW in off-peak seasons. The shortfall during peak season, in the months from November and June, is 60 MW. In off-peak period, the shortfall stands at 30 MW. From the month of July to October, the shortfall is 25 MW during peak season. However during off-peak period, in the months from July and October, there is a surplus of 20 MW which is traded as surplus power.
For the same period of time, the committee of estimates report on the power department says that almost half (four out of nine) of the state owned power projects have been shut down for a long period of time without repairing. The committee has urged the state government to revive these projects “since they can contribute a good amount of revenue while providing power to the needy consumers.”
The same report suggests that merely providing electricity access to the households is not enough. The department concerned, it says, should also “maintain those electrified villages since there are many villages which do not receive proper electricity throughout the year due to lack of maintenance by the department.”
Conversely, this also leads us to the question ‘what about those villages that are yet to have electricity supply?’ If our power-cuts are insufferable, imagine their misery. So yes, this is much as for those who do not have electricity connection at all.
So with or without the persuasion of Lennon’s call for revolution, let everyone in Nagaland say: power to the people.
