Odisha Energy Minister Pratap Deb, who recently blamed poor infrastructure and nor’wester for power outage in the State, found himself in a fix after power supply was snapped during an event attended by him in Balasore district on Monday.
According to sources, Deb went to Bahanaga in Balasore to attend a tribute meet in remembrance of the train tragedy victims.
As soon as the programme began, which was attended by many senior leaders, the power supply went off, even though the sky was crystal clear, sources informed.
When the newsmen questioned Deb about the power cut, he kept mum and choose to avoid the reporters.
Fumed over the incident, a local, who also attended the event, said, “The political leaders only want vote and power. They don’t care about the well-being of common people.”
Notably, Deb had recently once again dismissed allegations of power cuts in the state and blamed poor infrastructure as the reason behind power outages.
The minister went on to clarify that power outages are mainly due to the Nor’wester activities in different parts of the state.
“There are no power cuts. I am again repeating that the media should not use the term power cut. We are bound to snap power during thunderstorm activities. Recently, several parts of the state witnessed Nor’wester and electricity poles got uprooted under the impact of strong winds. Reinstalling the poles and wires is a time-consuming affair,” Deb had said.
Earlier in the day, Deb faced the power cut heat as the members of the student wing of Congress staged a protest in front of his house demanding his resignation over the erratic power supply.
The irate members of the Congress, with lanterns and hand fans, held a massive demonstration and hurled tomatoes at the official residence of the Energy Minister holding the latter responsible for the unscheduled power cuts in the State.