Bhagalpur, Feb. 15: Residents of Bhagalpur have taken a leaf out of the Egyptian movement by deciding to hit the roads to demand continuous power supply.

For the last two days, Sabaur grid station at Bhagalpur has been receiving only 10-15MW from the Central Load Dispatch (CLD), Patna, against the daily requirement of 60-70MW. The residents, who are forced to live in darkness, say they are fed up with the government’s failure to provide electricity while the home turf of state energy minister Bijendra Yadav — Supaul district — has sufficient power supply.

The ongoing power generation problems are also set to get worse from today with BJP MP from Godda Nishikant Dubey blocking the merry go round tracks (used by wagons carrying coal) disrupting supply to the NTPC’s super thermal power projects at Farakka and Kahalgaon.

Normality has taken a hit with the poor power supply. Sangeeta Jha, a homemaker, said: “Why is the Nitish Kumar government tight-lipped over the problem of acute power shortage? Examinations are nearing but my children are unable to study properly because we don’t have power in the evening. The students appearing for their board examinations from February 23 are also faced with the same problem.”

Political parties and voluntary organisations also attacked against the government’s failure to provide power. Debashish Banerjee of Boonkar Sangharsh Samiti, a body of weavers of the traditional silk industry, said: “Records of the CLD, Patna, revealed that from January 31 to February 14, Sabaur grid station received 5-6 hours of power supply, while Supaul power grid station received 22-23 hours of supply. Where does CLD, Patna, get the power to supply to Supaul? It is only because Supaul is the home district of energy minister Bijendra Yadav.”

Banerjee added the government’s failure to arrange power supply has led to low production at the century-old silk industry. “The present power crisis has added to the problems of the weavers who are subjected to starvation because of the disruption of their work,” he said.

Ajit Sharma, a local Congress leader, said: “Our party has decided to agitate against the government’s failure to provide continuous power supply.”

Vijay Bhabak, a Youth Congress leader, went further to liken the power movement to that witnessed in Egypt. “If the people of Egypt could overthrow a 30-year-old regime, why can’t we force the government to ensure power supply in the region?” he said, asking the people to join in the agitation. Anga Utthan Sangharsh Samiti, another local body, and the local unit of Rastrabadi Chhatra Sanghatan has also threatened mass agitations. Farook Ali, convener of Bidyut Upovhokta Sanghrash Samiti, said: “We have planned to start mass movements against the government’s apathy towards power supply in the region.”

K.N. Singh, general manager of the Bhagalpur unit of BSEB, said: “We will take proper steps to know about the poor power supply from CLD, Patna, and will try to improve the power situation here.” Singh, however, refused to comment on why the energy minister’s home district was spared of the misery.

Dubey’s agitation has hampered the supply of coal from the Rajmahal Coalfield, popularly known as Lalmatiya project, to the Farakka and Kahalgaon units. The Godda legislator blocked the merry go round tracks at Godda district in support of their demands. “NTPC and Coal India has earned huge profits from the Lalmatiya project but they have not bothered to do anything about community development. The organisations are yet to provide compensation to the persons who had given their land for the projects. We will continue the blockade till the companies find a concrete solution,” Dubey told The Telegraph over phone.

Blockade of the MGR tracks has spread panic among the NTPC officials. A.K. Das, chief public relations officer of NTPC, Kahalgaon project, said: “We received two racks of coal from MGR supply this morning but supply was completely disrupted after 10am.”