Load Shedding

Perhaps this is a term that people in the rest of the world do not know about, though it must exist there in some form or other. It is known that the energy requirements far exceed the energy available. Some countries use alternative sources when the electricity generated is not enough. There is solar energy, windmill generated electricity, nuclear power generated electricity, to name a few. It is sad that none of these exist in any significant quantity in my country. In order to meet the demands, the suppliers are forced to supply electricity for some time and shut it off for some time of the day. This is called load shedding. Sometimes there is no electricity for 18 hours at a time. Some places have no electricity at all. In the city of Mumbai, there is no load shedding. As a result people do not understand the value of electricity and waste it without giving it a second thought. Those who have a lot of money use it for showing off.
"Did you see the photograph of the new tower in today's newspaper?" my wife asked me.
"No. What is it about?"
"It shows the colorful light display on its top."

I checked it. The article had praised new light displays that towers are placing at their tops, as beacons for aircraft. There are many lights, which keep changing colors. I was aghast. A newspaper should be writing against wasteful practices, not praise them. Those huge billboards of ads, with powerful lights illuminating them, those buildings which flood their exteriors with light, those establishments which keep their neon signs on all night even when they are closed. Now this! Have a look at it in the accompanying illustration. God knows how much electricity it consumes. I found others like it which I have not filmed yet. I know that the civic body or the government will not stop such a wastage, because enough letters have been written by people to editors of newspapers, and nothing has come of it.