Heat wave in Odisha: 'Undeclared power cuts' add to woes

The heat wave has turned Odisha into a cauldron, making life miserable for people. Alleged unscheduled power cuts in many places are adding to the woes. In Nabarangpur, Soro in Balasore, Lamtaput in Koraput and Baripada in Mayurbhanj, it is alleged that the power supply is disrupted for hours in the name of maintenance work. 

Dinabandhu Santa, a resident of Jharigaon in Nabarangpur said, "Power goes out for hours and people are in distress due to the sizzling heat. People come out of their houses to take rest under shade and trees.”

Consumers vent ire on Discom 

Deepak Samal, a resident of Soro in Balasore said, "After Tata Power took up the electricity distribution, power cuts have become frequent in our area. Electricity supply gets disrupted for hours. Without electricity, we face a lot of problems at a time when all parts of Odisha are sizzling under the heat wave.”

Madhabananda Nayak, a resident of Lamtaput in Koraput, alleged that most of the time they have to suffer due to undeclared power cuts by the distribution company. “Life has become miserable due to heat and power cuts,” he fumed. 

Ramesh Satpathy, secretary of the State Electricity Consumers’ Association observed, “If we have surplus power, why there should be power cuts? Now, Tata Power is making an excuse of maintenance work. Why didn’t the company carry out maintenance work earlier?”

He demanded that the OERC should take action against the company and cancel its licence. 

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Dwijadas Basak, CEO of TP Northern Odisha Distribution Limited (TPNODL) said "There are no power cuts as maintenance work has already been done ahead of the summer. Maintenance work at power stations and sub-stations are already done."