BARIPADA: In what could be a huge embarrassment for the Odisha government, frequent power outages marred the convocation address of President Droupadi Murmu at Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University in Baripada on Saturday.
The President expressed displeasure over the power cut due to load-shedding and wondered why is there a disruption in the electricity supply. She managed to deliver her speech in a temporary light fitted to the podium when the auditorium plunged into darkness for around eight minutes.
Sources said the electricity supply was snapped minutes after Murmu started delivering the 12th convocation address of the university. There was no electricity in the auditorium from 11.56 am to 12.04 pm. The event continued in darkness as the standby generator at the auditorium, too, had failed to function.
The President was, however, unperturbed in her speech despite disruption in power supply. She recited a poem by noted poet Mayadhar Mansingh: "Andhar jetiki aalua setiki, ehi je gahana bana..." (There is light as much as dark, in the dense forest). The power supply was restored after sometime later.
While this was not enough, several invitees expressed discontentment as they were noTheret allowed to enter the auditorium citing some issues. The first tribal woman minister from Mayurbhanj Saraswati Hembram tore the invitation letter as a mark of protest as the police did not allow her into the convocation venue. Media persons were also not allowed to cover the event.
Superintending Engineer of Tata Power Northern Odisha Distribution Ltd Harish Kunar Panda blamed the faults in the internal wiring of the auditorium for the blackout during the President's speech.
Vice Chancellor of the university Prof Santosh Tripathy tendered an apology and assured that an inquiry into the incident will be conducted to find out the reasons.
Electrician Suspended
Meanwhile, the university authorities suspended electrician Jayant Tripathy for the power outage. A three-member team comprising the registrar, PG council chairman and development officer has been tasked to investigate lapses and fix responsibility.