JAGATSINGHPUR: Anger over delay in restoration works spilled on to the roads on Tuesday as large number of people staged road blockade at Thana Chowk in Jagatsinghpur town demanding revival of power supply at the earliest. Even after five days of cyclone Fani, power supply has not been restored in any of the affected areas of the coastal district.
As many as 1,308 villages under Biridi, Jagatsinghpur, Raghunathpur, Balikuda, Erasama, Naugaon, Tirtol, Kujang blocks besides, areas under Jagatsinghpur and Paradip Municipalities were affected by the cyclonic storm.
The Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU) and a private firm Enzen Global are undertaking power restoration works in the district but due to lack of coordination between the two agencies and shortage of equipment and manpower, restoration work has been delayed. Also, CESU is currently focussing on restoring electricity in Jagatsinghpur town as a result of which, power supply in rural areas will take more time.
In 1999 when Jagatsinghpur was ravaged by Super Cyclone, CESCO personnel were engaged in restoring electrical lines and the job was done within 10 days. The agitators said although two agencies have been deployed for the work this time, there has been no satisfactory progress.
Electrical infrastructure worth `25 crore have been damaged by Fani in the district. More than 4,000 LT (low tension) line poles, 1,000 11 KV poles and 300 33 KV poles have been either uprooted or damaged while hundreds of transformers were destroyed by the cyclonic storm.
Superintending Engineer of CESU (Paradip), Bibhudatta Mohapatra said contractors working in power sector have been roped in for early restoration of power lines. Work is on in Jagatsinghpur Municipality, Kujang, Tirtol and Raghunathpur areas have already started, he added.
