AC: No more a luxury item

Is there a need to ban ACs for a few hours, maybe during the evening hours? According to a City-based executive engineer, every third home in the City has an air-conditioner. "Every big kothi has at least one," he says.

He adds further that a one-and-a-half ton air-conditioner consumes 2.5 kilowatts of electricity in an hour which roughly costs about Rs 6. Officials say that it is not possible to enforce such a ban as it is very difficult to check up who has his AC on.

Says Dinesh Thakur, a government employee: "I think that unless such a ban is imposed on AC-users the electricity problem cannot be solved. Those found violating ban-orders should be deprived of connections for say one month."

Vikas Chopra, a businessman who deals in electronic goods, also feels that ACs should be banned during the evening hours. "Why should others suffer because of a handful of people? I also have an AC and I won’t mind switching it off for a couple of hours in the evening," he says.

Shiv Kumar, an industrialist, however, frowns at the idea of banning ACs even for one minute. "Why the hell do you think we spent 20,000 bucks, if still we are not entitled to avail of comforts? The administration should never, never think along these lines."

For Vaneeta, a student, banning ACs is a silly idea. "The best thing is that those who are using air-conditioners should be made to pay more than a normal person does. Anyway, an AC-user is paying a hefty sum for using an AC. It consumes a lot of electricity," he says.

"Why can’t the administration think of ways so that there is no power shortage," questions Manoj Kalia, a business executive. "Anyway, we can’t have ACs working the whole day, thanks to the frequent power cuts."

Gurpreet Singh, who owns a factory, feels that ACs have become a part of life of a common man. "I have ACs in my home, all our cars have been equipped with ACs. How can anybody stop me from using them. I cannot stand heat. Is anybody concerned about the welfare of the citizens in this country?" he questions.

"Yeah, there is one thing that could be possible. Just in case such a ban comes about. For that period of time when the ACs are banned in homes, I will do a geri in my air-conditioned car," he quips.