Much of the cool draft of optimism energy minister Nooruddin Khan blew the other day in a recent conversation with a vernacular dally over the relieving role of barge-mounted power generating projects turned into sultry and dreary squalls of annoying uncertainty by an update of the same paper on that scheme.

Our wistful longing for a change in the scenario in the wake of yawning gap between country's demand and supply of power and its inevitably discomfiting and debilitating effects has reportedly given way to serious bureaucratic indifference. A project that was hoped to inject four hundred mega watt of extra power into the national network has been reported to be unable to become operational before the next peak demand season.

Our question is how this can at all happen ? The government took a decision to tackle a national crisis on an emergency basis. How can people within it dare drag feet over it ?

And this is not a new syndrome threatening to chip away from the projected effectiveness of the decisions. It is taking a decision to tackle the problem only to let all the good work go down the drain due to a lack of tenacious pursuance needed for the timely Implementation of any project.

The problem seems to be lying with the Power Development Board (PDB) or agency entrusted with the job of striking the deal and delivering goods in this case. Some people there do not seem to be treating the matter as professionally or clinically they should have . And this is where the energy ministry has to play a more effective role. Unfortunately the impression has been that the ministry and Its officials are not on top of it. Lot of the initial delay in finding out where the shoe pinched and the failure to come up with a comprehensive picture at the very outset of the problem paved the way for this impression. If the power sector has to effectively meet the crisis it is reeling under now. the problems and their solutions have to be pursued in a forthright and dynamic manner.