Bhagalpur, April 20: Power crisis has again crippled Bhagalpur and this time, the crisis has led to a scarcity of water.

Acute power crisis has run the city with a population of 4 lakh dry — residents as well as patients at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital (JLNMCH) — are deprived of a steady supply of water. Executive engineer of Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB), Bhagalpur, Rajendra Pandey said in the past three days, the city has been receiving 10MW in the day and 15MW in the evening from the central load dispatch (CLD), Patna

Bhagalpur requires 65-70MW power supply daily. Biswanath Mandal of Barahat in Banka is admitted at JLNMCH for the past five days with high fever. Taps at the hospital have run dry because of poor power supply. Mandal was hence compelled today to walk to the banks of Ganga, adjacent to the hospital, with his attendants to relieve himself. He was not the only one, other patients at the hospital had to follow Mandal’s footsteps.

Superintendent of Barari water supply works Hareram Choudhary said supply has been disrupted in the city for the past three days. “We require at least four hours of undisrupted power to supply the water into the network of pipelines. Since we are hardly getting an hour’s power supply, it is not possible for us to provide water in the city,” he said.

Bhagalpur mayor Bina Yadav echoed Choudhary and lambasted BSEB for making the residents’ lives difficult. “We have already informed the officials concerned of the problems. If any untoward incident takes place, BSEB will be responsible,” Bina said.

Pandey, district magistrate Narmadeshwar Lal or any other district official was not available for comment.