Cricketer MS Dhoni's wife Sakshi flags 'power crisis' in Jharkhand

New Delhi: Sakshi Singh, the wife of cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni has questioned the Jharkhand government over the "power crisis" in the state. Taking to Twitter on Monday, Sakshi wrote: "As a taxpayer of Jharkhand just want to know why is there a power crisis in Jharkhand since so many years? We are doing our part by consciously making sure we save energy!"

Sakshi's tweet comes amid reports of coal shortages faced at power plants in the country.

There is also a heatwave in the state with most parts of the state witnessing temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. A heatwave is predicted in the districts of Girdhi, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Ranchi, Bokaro, Koderma, Palamu, Garhwa, Chatra till April 28.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Power RK Singh on Monday met Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to discuss measures to enhance efficiency in coal transport to power plants.

Singh urged all stakeholders at the Centre and state level to work hand in hand for an unhindered power supply, the Ministry of Power said in a statement.

The minister urged the Power Gencos to own freight rakes under the scheme of the Ministry of Railways to deal with logistic constraints in coal supply.

Representatives from Coal and Power PSUs and states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra also joined the meeting virtually.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Railways said it has deployed additional rakes to transport coal to power plants.

To ensure a swift supply of coal across power plants, additional trains and rakes by Indian Railways have been initiated to augment the transportation of coal through its network, the Ministry of Railways said. Indian Railways has ramped up the coal transportation resulting in 32 per cent more coal freight loading between September 2021 and March 2022. There has also been an increase in 10 per cent freight, by efficiently mobilizing resources after April 2022, the ministry said.