Probe Ordered Into Blackout During President’s Address At Odisha Varsity; 1 Suspended

Baripada: The Odisha government took a serious view of the blackout  during President Droupadi Murmu’s address at the convocation ceremony of Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University (MSCBU) in Baripada on Saturday.

While an employee of the electricity department of the university was placed under suspension following the incident, a thorough probe has been ordered into the whole episode. A three-member team has been constituted to conduct probe, sources said.

Shortly after the President began her convocation address, there was a blackout and the auditorium plunged into darkness as all the lights went off. She had to read her speech with the help of a dim light on the podium.

While lights went off during the President’s speech, ACs in the auditorium and microphone were functioning, sources said.

Tata Power Northern Odisha Dist Ltd (TPNODL) CEO Bhaskar Sarkar reportedly said that DG sets were running, ACs and microphone were working, but lights went off due to faulty internal building wiring.

Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Baripada, Rudra Narayan Mohanty said a thorough probe will be conducted to ascertain the cause behind the power outage and who is responsible for it. Accordingly, action will be taken.

The Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) held an emergency meeting after the incident, which was stated to have occurred due to technical glitch.

MSCB University Vice Chancellor Prof Santosh Tripathy expressed regrets over the incident. Stating that IDCO had constructed the building and also repaired the generator, he said though there was a dedicated generator, it did not work. The incident is being probed, he said.