Summer is at its peak with the rise of mercury level. Because of high humidity, the day hours are hardly bearable in coastal Kendrapada. The daily wagers, small-time traders and people living on streets are the worst-hit.
Most of the streets in the district generally wear a deserted look from 11 am to 3.30 pm as people choose to remain indoors to escape the sweltering heat.
The undeclared power cuts have added to the woes. Power outage for several times is a daily affair mostly during day hours. The low voltage also adds to the misery of the denizens here, alleged the locals.
“I am worried as to what will happen in the days ahead when the entire district is reeling under the scorching heat these days in April,” said Prasant Nayak of Ayodhyanagar village.
The power crisis has boosted sale of invertors and generators. “I sold nearly 120 inverters in a month and at least 100 customers have placed orders. An inverter costs anything between Rs15, 000 and Rs 25,000; so we recently launched an easy instalment scheme so that everybody can afford it,” said Babaji Rout, owner of an electronics goods shop in Kendrapada.
Apart from interruption in water supply in many parts of the district, power outage has also taken a toll on a number of small-scale industries like ice-cream factories, bakery units, oil and rice mills. Four to five hours power cut on an average per day is experienced.
As the Cuttack-Chandabali road widening work is going on, so the CESU department has been shifting the poles and line wires from the roadside forcing power cuts in the day hours.
Overloading in some places also leads to frequent power cuts during evening hours. “We are doing our best to ensure uninterrupted power supply,” CESU manager Amarjit Patnaik told.