PARLAKHEMUNDI: Mobile charging units, generator owners and packaged water traders are doing a brisk business in Parlakhemundi Municipality which remained without electricity for the fifth consecutive day.
“On the first day, I paid `20 to charge my mobile phone for an hour. But now, the price has gone up to `50 and one has to stand in a queue to charge mobile phones,” said Susant, a college student. Similarly, the demand for generators has also shot up. People are hiring generators to lift water and charge inverters.
“I paid `1500 to use a five kv Genset for an hour and a half,” said Sandhya a housewife. As many as 10 generator owners from Berhampur are camping in the municipality area to make a quick buck after connectivity was restored to the Silk City, sources said.
The cost of packaged water has also doubled in the town. A 20 litre jar, which was earlier costing `40, is now selling at `70 to `80. The district administration is distributing water through tankers in some areas of the Municipality.