Hyderabad: Former energy minister and Congress deputy leader in the Legislative Council Shabbir Ali on Friday demanded an explanation from Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on the ongoing power crisis in the state.In particular, he asked the state government as to what steps have been taken to meet the demand of agricultural power for the ongoing Rabi season.

Speaking to newsmen in the Assembly premises the former minister asked Mr Rao why he failed to get an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that energy minister C. Laxma Reddy had been assuring the farmers that government would supply seven-hour power in Rabi. However, the department officials are proposing only five-hour supply. “Many farmers committed suicide during the Kharif season for this kind of confusion on part of the state government. Similar confusion is going to continue in the Rabi season too,” Mr Shabbir ali said. He also slammed the state government for resorting to unscheduled power cuts taking place in Telangana, including areas within GHMC limits, which only exposes

the inefficiency of the government in handling the power situation, he said. Ridiculing the Chief Minister’s claims of getting more power from Chattisgarh, he said, “ I know nothing has moved an inch on all these projects and it is going to be a precarious situation in Telangana in the coming summer months.” Mr Ali also took on AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for blocking the legitimate share of Telangana from the AP power projects.