Electricity rationed in Jaffna, Cricket mars fuel distribution

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 November 2006, 03:48 GMT]
Due to shortage of fuel, engineers at Chunnakam Power Station, running diesel driven electricity generators, rationed electricity supply to 9 hours a day, civil society sources in Jaffna said. Electricity supply to Jaffna peninsula will be restricted to the following three slots: 5:00am to 7:am, from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, and from 6:00 pm to 10 pm. officials said.

Commercial establishments, banks and Government offices, petrol stations are expected to carryout their critical functions during these hours.

Meanwhile, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) in Colombo said Friday that one million litres of petrol to Jaffna by Thursday, to meet the consumer demand for fuel in the peninsula, and that CPC has made arrangements to dispatch 1,000 metric tonnes of diesel from the Trincomalee harbour to Jaffna.

Thousands of Jaffna residents stood in line between 9;00am to 1:00 pm after Jaffna media and local radio stations carried notices that fuel is to be distributed between these times on Sunday.

Many left when the scheduled electric power was not made available for gas stations to operate the pumps. Civil sources said the distribution of fuels started after 2:00 pm.

Residents were irked when rumors spread that the sudden change in electricity distribution time was forced by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officers to enable them to watch the finals of the cricket game held in Mumbai between Australia and West Indies.

Chronology: