KENDRAPARA: Residents of Kendrapara continue to face hard times due to unscheduled power cuts. Officials managed to repair power lines and provided electricity two weeks after cyclone Fani, but the coastal town is now experiencing four to six hours of power cut daily as repair work had been carried out hastily. Similarly, frequent power cut in rural areas has made life of people miserable.
With summer season at its peak, the residents have started complaining. “We lived for two weeks without electricity after the cyclone. But now every day there is power cut for three to four hours in the evening. We are using lamps for our studies,” said Bikas Mohanty, a school student of Rajnagar.
Frequent power cut is also disrupting water supply in many parts of the district. Moreover, regular use of fuel-run generators at domestic, commercial and industrial establishments is creating noise and air pollution. “Load shedding is creating untold sufferings to small and medium businessmen. My business is getting hampered due to power cut. No customer comes during load shedding,” said Purnachandra Sahoo, a shop owner of Kendrapara.
The workers of Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU) hastily repaired the damaged electricity lines after the cyclone. As a result, many areas are now facing regular power cuts, said an official of CESU, adding that repair works are being carried out.
Meanwhile, the situation has led to rise in sale of power inverters and generators.Executive Engineer of CESU, Kendrapara, Amarjit Patnaik said, “ A large number of electric poles were uprooted in the cyclone. We had repaired damaged sub-stations and provided electricity to the district within a week. In some places, people are facing power shortage due to loose connection. We are also replacing old electric wires and repairing many electric transformers to provide uninterrupted power.”
