PITCHED BATTLE:Stones lie scattered as residents of Kaushal Nagar protest against the non-availability of power and water supply for the past 10 days, in Patna on Saturday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, April 9: Hundreds of residents of Kaushal Nagar near Chitkohra overbridge protested the non-availability of power and water supply for the past 10 days.

Mostly Scheduled Caste people blocked roads going towards the airport, the Governor House and Hardinge Road near Chitkohra overbridge with bamboos, boulders and rickshaws. They even burnt tyres to vent their ire.

Daily commuters passing through these roads had a harrowing time being forced to take alternative routes to reach their destinations. Even doctors were not spared. A doctor, who had to reach his clinic in Sheikhpura, was denied permission to take the road. The protest crippled vehicular movement for over three hours. The blockade was lifted only after police assured the mob that they would try to get power and water supply restored by the evening considering Chaiti Chhath.

“We have been facing a lot of problems without power and water supply for the past 10 days. But now it has become unbearable in this sweltering heat. Surprisingly, the government did not bother to restore power and water supply on Chaiti Chhath,” said Sudama Manjhi, one of the protesters and a resident of the area.

Some of the people were furious with the Nitish government saying it did not care for the downtrodden.

“It was not the case during Lalu’s regime. We never faced such problems then. We voted for Nitish Kumar in the last Assembly elections but now we are being victimised,” said Ram Khilawan, another protester.

When asked about problems being faced by the agitators, Patna Electric Supply Undertaking (West) superintending engineer Rajiv Amit told The Telegraph: “We have been removing the overhead cable in the this area to lay underground cables and so they (protesters) are not getting a chance to hook electricity. We have already provided connections to genuine consumers. Their demands are flawed and so there is no question of listening to their grievances.”