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| Power outages are frequent at Laxmi Sagar on the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar road. Picture by Ashwinee Pati |
Bhubaneswar, July 25: Frequent power cuts are plaguing residents of Laxmi Sagar and Kalpana Square but the power utility says there is no such problem in the area.
Over 45,000 people, who stay in the area between Laxmi Sagar and Kalpana Square, have to suffer power cuts of three to four hours frequently.
They complain that lack of grid substations in their area has affected the power supply.
However, officials at the Central Electricity Supply Utility (Cesu) say power cut problems were there in the summer due to less power availability, but it had been sorted out and they had not received any complaints.
Local residents and traders said the problem of frequent power cuts had been persisting in their areas for several months. “What worries us is the prolonged power cuts. Sometimes it takes more than four hours to restore power supply and it makes our lives hell,” says Ratnakar Biswal, a resident of Chintamaniswar.
Schools have opened recently and power cuts mean children can’t study in the evening. “The children have to finish their studies in the daytime because of the power cuts,” said Manorama Mantri, a homemaker in Kalpana whose daughter studies in Class IX.
Laxmi Sagar, fishery area, Buddheswari post office area and Sital Bhandar fall in ward No. 42 of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. Local councillor Amaresh Jena said prolonged power cuts had been persisting in his ward.
However, officer in charge of Bhubaneswar Electrical Division B. Mohakud said no such problems existed in that area. “We have not received any complaint regarding prolonged power cuts in Laxmi Sagar. It was a problem in the summer. The power cuts then were the result of overloading. But with the onset of monsoon, the problem was sorted out,” says Mohakud.
He adds that Cesu plans to set up more transformers in the area, but bad roads have prevented them from carrying equipment to the spots. “We have the transformers which we will set up there soon,” says Mohakud.
