Cong does not take itself seriously in Odisha
With days of A Chellakumar as observer of the Congress in Odisha numbered, a search has started in the party for his successor. However, sources here maintained that nobody at the AICC level is keen to take such a crucial responsibility in view of the track record of Congress in the state for more than 20 years. A party which was ruling the state till 2000 now has only nine MLAs and is also not sure if it will return to the Assembly in 2024 election. Another major factor for which senior leaders are not showing any interest in Odisha is rampant factionalism. Party leaders here do not follow guidelines and issue statements without any consultation with the state leadership. All interactions between leaders and meetings have stopped. Three to four persons visit the Congress Bhawan nowadays and there is a deadlock. Such a situation has led party workers in doubt about their own position and many of them are contemplating to cross over to other political parties for better future. Some senior leaders are, meanwhile, contemplating to meet the high command at New Delhi to take up the matter. But, will the leadership take state Congress leaders seriously going by their track record.
~Bijay Chaki
No respite for power consumers
There seems no end to the woes of the power consumers in the state. After suffering rampant power outages during summer - one of the hottest in recent memory - they have now been asked to pay more. The social media is presently flooded with complaints against Tata Power increasing the billing cycle from 30 days to about 45 days in some cases. This translates to consumers having to shell out higher charges as the rate after 200 units is Rs 5.80 and after 400 the top slab of Rs 6.20 kicks in. Instead of providing relief to the consumers, who are supposed to get a compensation of Rs 100 for a power outage of more than four hours (as per OERC standard of performance), the distribution utility came out with a clarification which read, “Dear Consumers, as per the Regulations, the normal billing cycle is 30 days (+/- 3 days). However, for extreme weather conditions (heat wave, Kalbaishakhi) in June, there has been a forced delay in meter reading leading to an extension of the billing cycle for several consumers.” The consumers are not only being penalised for the incompetence of Tata Power but also paying the price for privatisation.
~ Bijoy Pradhan
Grin and bear it
Frequent power outages unleashed a meme fest in Odisha as sweltering weather conditions returned to haunt residents after the initial showers of southwest monsoon. As if the short-duration outages were not enough, four to five-hour-long power cuts on the pretext of tree trimming pushed the enthusiasm for meme makers further with social media users attempting to cool off with some hilarious posts. An interesting post by one kumar_lipun03 left Instagram users in splits. The reel that contained an open letter to Tata Power from an electricity consumer describing the suffering of consumers was rib-tickling. It was an instant hit with over 60,000 likes and 450 comments within a few hours. This inspired many to be active on social media to ensure power-punch high-voltage fun by criticising the state government and the power discoms in innovative ways and let out frustration by posting memes.
~Hemant Kumar Rout