This story is from June 6, 2020

Jodhpur: Return of the natives sees rise in power, water demand

Jodhpur: Return of the natives sees rise in power, water demand
Picture for representational purpose only.
JODHPUR: Influx of migrants has led to a spurt in consumption of water and electricity in rural areas of Jodhpur district.
In the last three weeks after migrants were allowed to enter the state, over 50,000 labourers returned to their homes leading to pressure on resources.
Chief engineer (PHED) Neeraj Mathur said water consumption in rural areas had risen by about 20% unlike previous years.

“In rural areas, the usual demand was 210 MLD, which has shot up to 250 MLD,” said Mathur.
In what can be termed a double whammy for the PHED, the escalated consumption, both due to migrant influx and soaring heat, has led the department officials to step up its efforts to match up to the demand and also has to resort to supplying of water by tractors in rural areas.
“There is problem in the villages, which are at the tailend of the distribution channel and such areas are being supplied water by tractors,” said Mathur.

Like water, the electricity consumption has also shot up by aroun 24% with the migrants returning home.
According to the MD (Jodhpur DISCOM) Avinash Singhvi, electric consumption in rural areas of the district has shot up to 158 lakh units per day contrary to 128 lakh units usually.
“This escalation in consumption could be attributed to the migrants, which has caused increased use of electrical appliances. This is a record consumption, which is approximately 24% over the usual consumption,” he said.
But as far as the consumption in urban areas, both water and electricity indicate contradictory trends.
While the water consumption has also increased parallelly in urban areas also, the electric consumption under the similar category has recorded a slump.
Mathur said since people are in their homes due to lockdown, water consumption in city has also risen to a whopping 300 MLD against 250 MLD in routine.
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