BJP & Congress Lash Out At Odisha Govt Over Frequent Power Disruptions

Bhubaneswar: As Odisha continued to encounter frequent disruptions in electricity supply since the beginning of this summer, opposition BJP and Congress on Sunday mounted a blistering attack on the BJD government in the state on the issue.

Leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress held Naveen Patnaik government as well as Tata Power for the erratic supply of electricity to the people who are reeling under scorching heat wave conditions.

Coming down heavily on the state government, state Congress campaign committee chairman Bijay Patnaik said people are not getting electricity when they require most because of inefficiency of the government and the distribution company.

Stating that power disruption is experienced even when there is no rain or storm, he said electricity supply is erratic across the state. It is difficult to be certain about availability of power.

It seems that the state government has little control over the power distribution company, the Congress leader said, adding that district collectors are also helpless and people have to suffer as the officers at Tata Power do not receive calls.

Expressing similar views, state BJP spokesperson Satyabrata Panda said though the ruling BJD is claiming that Rs 20,000 crore has been spent in the last five years to strengthen the power infrastructure, the money seemed to have been wasted and looted.

The state government, particularly the energy department, appears to be highly insensitive towards the miseries of the people due to frequent power outages, he said.

Launching a scathing attack on the state government, he said the Energy Minister should come up with a clarification in this regard. The government had announced that they would install such electric poles that they would withstand the wind with speed of 300 kmph. “They had said they would complete it within five years. Where is the promise? Where are the poles?”, he asked.

Speaking on the issue, BJD MP Amar Pattanayak said the power distribution companies may not have installed and tested the disaster recovery plan perfectly and it should be a lesson for them.

In case of any major problem, they should be able to tell people about the time to be taken for restoration of power supply, he said.