BHUBANESWAR: With no respite from the sweltering heat and frequent power disruptions, opposition BJP and Congress on Sunday lashed out at the state government for going soft on Tata Power which is in charge of power distribution in the state. Coming down on Energy Minister Pratap Keshari Deb for his argument that power cuts are inevitable during summer storms, BJP spokesperson Satyabrata Panda said the minister is more concerned for Tata Power than the interests of the people.
Reacting to the minister’s statement that the state still lacks the required infrastructure in the power sector, Panda asked the former if he brought the issue to the knowledge of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during review of performance of the Energy department. The state government has been maintaining it has already spent more than Rs 20,000 crore during the last 10 years to strengthen the power infrastructure.
After the transfer of assets of the four power distribution companies, Tata Power said the distribution infrastructure needs overhauling in view of the rickety condition. It amply proves the money has been wasted and looted, the BJP leader alleged. Panda asked the minister to tell people about the fate of the underground cabling project which was started in the twin city of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack in 2016. The government has already incurred an expenditure of Rs 2,000 crore in the state capital with timeline to complete the project within five years. Seven years have passed but the project has not yet been operationalised, he said.
Taking a swipe at the BJD government, chairman of the Pradesh Congress Campaign Committee Bijay Patnaik said people are not getting electricity when they require it the most. In his response, BJD MP Amar Pattanayak said power distribution companies may not have a disaster recovery plan and it should be a lesson for them.