Berhampur, June 6: About 40,000 residents of 12 panchayats in Mohana and R Udayagiri blocks of Gajapati district observed a 12-hour dawn-to-dusk bandh today to protest against erratic power supply in the area.

Frequent power cuts have affected domestic and foreign tourist inflow to the famous hills of Chandragiri, about 80km from here, where Padmasambhava Mahavihara, a Tibetan monastery, is located.

Private buses and other vehicles stayed off the roads and business establishments downed shutters.

The Chandragiri Gundicha Merchants' Association and the Hatapada Maa Brundabati Merchants' Association had called the bandh.

"Power supply is very bad in Chandragiri. We get power for only two hours a day. We have been facing a lot of problems because of such power cuts over the last one year," said secretary Chandragiri Gundicha Merchants' Association Jana Ranjan Patnaik.

Manas Ranjan Patnaik, president of the Hatapada Maa Brundabati Merchants' Association, said that power structures in the area had to be streamlined.

The areas where the bandh was observed include panchayats of Chandragiri, Labarsing, Chandiput, Dhepaguda, Dhadiamba, Juba, Antaraba, and Chudangapur among others.

"The 33-KV line, which supplies power to Chandragiri, comes from Mohana to Chandragiri via Cheligada. This supply line remains disrupted most of the time. Southco is not maintaining this 33-KV line properly," said Manas Ranjan Patnaik.

"There are only 14 linemen to maintain and repair the line. We had met the collector of Gajapati and executive engineer, Southco, Paralakhemundi division, at the district headquarters to complain about the power situation on June 22 last year.

"But no action has been taken to improve the power supply," Manas said.

MLA Mohana Basanti Mallick had laid the foundation stone for a sub-station of the 33-KV line in Adaba about six months ago. "But it is yet to start working," he added.

Executive engineer of Southco, Paralakhemundi division, Narayan Nayak said: "We have been resorting to power cuts every day during the evening peak hours between 6pm and 9pm. There were power disruptions in the area one week ago due to the cyclonic storm Roanu."

He denied that the area had been facing power shortage over the past year.

Nayak said the work order for 33-KV line sub-stations at Adaba and Chandragiri had been issued. Construction would start after the soil testing and be completed within six months.

"Power supply will improve after these two sub-stations are commissioned," he added.

The monastery, inaugurated by Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on January 12, 2010, during his visit to Chandragiri, attracts many foreign and domestic tourists.

"It has boosted tourism in Odisha," said Gyetral Jigmei Rinpoche, chief abbot of the monastery.

"But most of the tourists who visit Chandragiri and stay in the rooms near the monastery at night, prefer to sleep outside because of erratic power supply," said Jampel, chairman of local Tibetan assembly.