Power cuts: People taken for granted
The State’s power regime seems to believe in taking people for granted. The CESU has resorted to long hours of power cuts in the State capital since Monday without even bothering to notify the consumers about it. What is even more revolting is that the so-called VIP areas are excluded from these power cuts. On Tuesday, the people in Bhubaneswar had to bear with power cuts for 30 minutes at every 90 minutes’ interval.
What prevents the Energy Department or the power distribution company CESU from letting the consumers know about such ordeals is difficult to understand. The question asked by many is “Are they not accountable to people who pay to get their servicesIJ” The power cuts that last between 30 to 90 minutes have been taking place five to eight times in some areas of the city.
Sources said the power cuts are not due to inadequate power generation but because of a decision taken four days ago by the authorities to divert power to Puri via the Keshura grid for Monday’s Bahuda Yatra and Tuesday’s Suna Vesha.
‘Power disruption due to failure of 3 units’
The frequent power cuts since Monday in Bhubaneswar and some other parts of the State are due to a sudden failure of two units of the NTPC Kaniha and one unit of the TTPS Talcher, Energy Department Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena said on Tuesday.
The Secretary, who was in New Delhi, said the disruptions in power supply are caused by the failure of three units of the NTPC and TTPS to generate power.When asked why the people have not been informed about the shortfall in power supply and the resultant power cuts, he said the CESU has been advised to inform the consumers through the media.
Tribal electrocuted; FIR against CESU
Ramesh Badra, a tribal resident of Niladir Vhihar Basti here, died on Monday after coming in contact with an electric wire hanging low in the area.
Angered over Badra’s death, local residents lodged an FIR at the Chandrasekharpur police station against the Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU), the power distribution company operating in central Odisha. They alleged that Ramesh died due to CESU’s negligence as the latter didn’t pay any heed to their repeated warning regarding the dangerously hanging wire. Ramesh, a driver, came in contact with the wire while he was going to clean his hands after a meal. He is survived by his wife and two small kinds, a daughter (5) and a son (2).