At a time when Odisha is reeling under intense heatwave conditions, state Energy Minister Pratap Deb faced the heat with the members of the student wing of Congress staging a massive protest in front of his official residence in Bhubaneswar demanding his resignation over the alleged 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.
The agitating Congress workers also scuffled with the police while trying to barge into the minister’s residence while demanding his resignation, sources added.
“If urban areas are suffering from unscheduled power cuts, then think what is the situation in the rural areas of the State. The power cut in the name of power trip is affecting students the most,” said an agitating member of the student wing of Congress.
“But, there is no end to the plight of common people due to frequent power cuts and this has happened due to the nexus between the Odisha government and Tata Power. It is unfortunate that instead of speaking for the people of the State, the minister is batting for the power company,” another protestor said.
Notably, Deb had recently once again dismissed allegations of power cuts in the state and blamed poor infrastructure as the reason behind power outages.
It is pertinent to mention here that Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena had recently expressed his displeasure over Tata Power’s slow pace of restoration work following the damage caused by Nor’wester rain that lashed the capital city.