Berhampur residents up the ante against power cut woes, stage road blockade

Vehicular movements on Berhampur - Gosaninuagaon main road came to a standstill after irked locals staged a road blockade throughout Tuesday night over repeated and unscheduled power cuts by Tata Power.

Angry locals also detained two employees of TPSODL (Tata Power Southern Odisha Distribution Limited). Alleging unscheduled power cuts and low voltage problems, irate locals burnt tyres on roads and blocked the road.

They said that the repeated power cuts make it hard for them to sleep at night. Moreover, power cuts during the daytime have been a regular affair for TPSODL.

On being informed, local police along with TPSODL officials reached the protest site and tried hard to pacify the agitators, but in vain. Angry locals refused to call off the protest until they were given a written assurance.

Hundreds of vehicles including trucks and passenger buses were stranded on both sides of the road following the protest. 

“Every time, they give us fake assurance and continue to snap electricity supply to our area. So, we don’t trust them at all. Moreover, our children have exams coming soon. So, we are demanding a written assurance from the officials concerned,” a local resident said.

Another local echoed, “Unscheduled power cut is affecting our normal lives. But, they are now very cunningly cutting power supply at night after everyone goes to sleep. Despite repeated complaints, they are not coming up with any solution in this regard. So, I request the administration to immediately come up with a solution.”

“This has been continuing for the last 15 days. They cut power during the day on a daily basis. But, now they have started doing it during night too,” another local said.

Till the last report came in, the locals called off the protest after assurance from Tata Power.