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• Industry and trade captains in western Tamil Nadu have responded cautiously to the move by the state government to impose power holidays on industrial units. The decision to continue with load shedding on other days and give preference to Chennai and multi-national companies (MNCs) has dampened their spirit.Coimbatore District Small Industries Association president M Kandhaswami welcomed the decision but with the caveat that the industry would wait and see how the government is going to implement it. "Power holidays must benefit the industry. It didn't work last time due to the lack of support from the southern region. It should be implemented properly and on an equitable basis till June after which wind mills would add to the supply," he said. He was critical of the government's decision to be partial to Chennai's concerns. Power cut will be restricted to two hours in the state capital while it would be four hours across rest of the state. "The mismatch is unwarranted,'' he said.
• Tamil Nadu Electricity Consumer Association president Mahendra Ramdoss said he was disappointed with the government announcement. "It would have been much better if the government ensured dedicated power supply for six days and declared a power holiday on the seventh day. Now it is not very clear how the power holidays would be implemented,'' he said. "The work force would be unhappy as the power holiday would force them to work on Sundays,'' he said. Ramdoss demanded that Kudankulam project be immediately commissioned.
• R Kalyanasundaram of Tamil Nadu Pumps and Spares Manufacturers Association also expressed a similar view. "The move would be effective only if the authorities reduce power outages on other days,'' he said. "The government has just added to the problem by declaring power holidays without addressing the issue of declared and undeclared power outages. Chennai is getting a greater share of energy while the rest of the state is in darkness. This is not justified,'' he said. "If the government show imposes cuts on MNCs and some top cement companies, which now enjoy uninterrupted supply, the problem of four-hour cuts could be resolved," he added.
• J James, president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises, welcomed power holidays but sought power cuts to be reduced to one hour on other days. "The announced power holiday will not help if power cut hours are not reduced. Power holiday along with power cuts makes no difference to industries. The 40% unit cut implemented in the case of high tension companies should be extended to MNCs as well. If they also share the burden, there will be no power problem in the state,'' he said.

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