Thousands of residents of Behratoli, Gadakata and Kendutola villages protested before the Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company limited (CSPDCl) in-charge of Jashpur Sub-division Him Shikhar Gupta against erratic power supply. The villagers also handed over a memorandum listing their grievances to him.
The villagers, most of them being youths, holding pamphlets and posters in their hands took out a rally and raised slogans against the department.
In the memorandum, the villagers said that the irregular power supply has affected the drinking water supply in the colonies. The residents have to call for private water tankers or fetch water from miles away for their daily use. The rising temperature and the negligence of the CSPDCl employees have enraged the residents. When the residents call CSPDCl sub-division to register their complaint, hardly there any employee is present to pick up the phone. It has been long since any senior officer has visited the area or had come for inspection.
The cables supplying electricity has worn out and on the verge of snapping which also cause erratic supply of power to the village.
Moreover the poles erected in the villages were in such a way that anytime they can fall and could cause a major accident. The irony is that on every 15 days the departmental officials shut down the power supply in the village in the name of maintenance but till date no maintenance work has been done and the condition of wires, poles is the same as before.
The denizens also complained of supply of low voltage electricity. The villagers residing at Kustongri, Dhumadand, Saliyatoli and Bemtatoli said that their villages were located near the jungles and the lights keep the wild animals away from village but due to low voltage, they had to burn fire and had to use other methods to drive the wild animals away.
After going through the complaint, in-charge Gupta said that he would discuss their problems in front of senior officials and assured them that their problems will soon be resolved.