The ransacked electric office at Ranihat. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, May 29: A mob today ransacked the electric office in Ranihat to protest against lack of power supply for the past 24 hours in the area.

Over 50 people from Ranihat and nearby areas stormed into the office of the executive engineer of electrical (Cuttack) distribution division No. 1 and ransacked the office. The agitators have damaged computers, xerox machine, table, chairs and other equipment in the accounts and establishment section.

“We had just resumed work after the lunch break when a mob of over 100 people entered the office and started throwing chairs and tables. The agitators have damaged all the electrical equipment, doors and other articles,” said Bhakta Tripathy, an employee.

Power supply in many areas, including Ranihat, Mangalabag, Pithapur, Shaktinagar, Link Road, Nuapada, Chauliaganj, CRRI and other areas, were severely affected following the hailstorm that lashed the city on Monday.

Electric poles were uprooted and wires sustained extensive damage in the heavy rain that continued for an hour yesterday evening. Two mobile towers at Badambadi and Mahanadi Vihar were also damaged in the rain, which was accompanied by gusty winds.

“It is a complete failure of the Cesu officials, who have failed to restore power supply in Ranihat and other areas, which have been witnessing a power cut for the past 24 hours,” said Swarup Natia, a resident of Ranihat Gopalsahi.

Natia said power cut during rain is a normal affair. But yesterday, the power supply was not restored till late in the evening. Later, we had contacted the officials of electric sub-station and they said that power would be restored by 9pm. However, the power was not restored till 5pm, which caused widespread resentment among people.

Apart from Ranihat and Mangalabag area, people in Nuapada had also faced difficulties because of power cut throughout the yesterday night. “There was no power supply throughout the night. Similarly, senior citizens and children were the worst affected by the power cut,” said Kasinath Sahu, a resident of Nuapada.

The Cesu officials have also admitted that the power supply could not be restored because of snapping of wires and other technical problems in many areas in the city.

“We have got information about the vandalism in Ranihat office, but as we are on site trying to fix up the technical problems, I cannot comment on the incident. However, efforts are also on to restore power supply by today evening,” said Cesu executive engineer Manoj Das.