Power woes continue to stir protests

Bhubaneswar: As power supply was restored in the Jagannath Temple, people in several affected areas are still reeling under darkness 12 days after Fani ravaged the state.
On Wednesday, people in several blocks of Jagatsinghpur district staged road blockades and demonstrations demanding restoration of power. Irate villagers blocked the Cuttack-Paradip Expressway and Cuttack-Nuagaon National Highway at several places disrupting traffic movement.
“The heat is unbearable after Cyclone Fani and 12 days have passed. How long will the government take to restore power?,” said Panchanan Bihari of Chandol.
Official sources said shortage of manpower, machinery and scorching heat are major challenges faced by the electricity workers in restoring power supply. Of the 25,01,131 affected consumers in Angul, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri, Nayagarh, Khurda, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur and Jajpur, power has been restored to 18, 05, 695 consumers, the officer added.
Over 10,000 skilled workforce are engaged 24X7 in restoring power in affected districts, said a senior officer of Cesu, adding that the damage to the energy infrastructure is huge. Over 5,030 km of 33 KV lines, 38,613 km of 11 KV lines and 79,485 km of LT lines have been destroyed in Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur and Jajpur districts. “They also alleged that they are yet to receive adequate relief materials from the government. The focus is on Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri while people in other affected districts have been treated as second class citizens,” said an angry protestor.
Altogether 17, 92,125 beneficiaries in the affected districts have received cash assistance while over 90% beneficiaries in these districts have received rice and 4.64 lakh beneficiaries received polythene distributed as relief.