Nitish seeks to replace Lalus lantern

Arguing that people of Bihar have had enough of the lalten lantern the party symbol of his arch rival Lalu Prasad,chief minister Nitish Kumar has sought the Planning Commissions intervention....

Arguing that people of Bihar have had enough of the lalten lantern the party symbol of his arch rival Lalu Prasad,chief minister Nitish Kumar has sought the Planning Commissions intervention for adequate electricity from the central pool.

Taking a dig at Lalu,Nitish told the top brass of the Planning Commission including its deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia that people of his state had for long been burning midnight oil through their lanterns to keep their dreams alive,which he believed signified poverty and despair.

Aware of the rich dividend reaped by Lalu till the last elections in Bihar by flaunting his election symbol,Nitish is keen to wipe out the lalten culture in his state as he asked the commission to ensure adequate power supply in his state. Humare log kab tak lalten se kaam chalayenge? unhe saaf suthri bijli ki roshni chahiye How long would people of Bihar make do with Lalten? They need clean means of electricity for lighting their homes, the chief minister is understood to have told the plan panel.

Nitish,who earned accolades today from Ahluwalia for doing tremendously well in his state,told the plan panel that any industrial development warranted adequate power,which has been denied to it and is proving to be a major handicap in wooing industry. We have cleared many thermal-power project proposals in our state. Because the Centre is not providing adequate coal linkages,these projects are not fructifying on the ground. Please ensure adequate linkage to such projects, Kumar said,adding the Centre had hitherto been providing power through single -phase mode,which had grossly affected the installed transformers across the state.

Nitish argued the state could not be allowed to sink below the level of national average electricity consumption. My aim is to take Bihar to the national level of electricity consumption which presently stands at 600 watt per month per household. And,for this,a poor state like Bihar desperately needs Central support. The Commission today approved Rs 16,000 crore as plan grant for Bihar,which includes Central assistance to the tune of Rs 110 crore.