Bhubaneswar, Aug. 9: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has accused Central Electricity Supply Utility (Cesu) of creating a mess on city roads while lopping off branches of roadside trees to avoid power supply disruptions during the monsoon.

They complain that Cesu workers leave the roads littered with chopped off branches and leaves. There is no one to clear the mess that at times causes traffic congestion.

B.N. Maharana, a resident of Nayapalli, said: “It is hopeless. Neither the Cesu workers nor the BMC men clean up the mess. The leaves decompose and raise a stink.”

City health officer Chandrika Prasad Das said: “It’s not our duty to clear the roads of this kind of garbage left behind by the Cesu. In spite of the BMC’s requests, the Cesu officials are not doing anything about it. The commissioner has taken it up with the Cesu several times.”

Das said the private operators engaged in the cleaning operations were not listening to their request to make an extra effort to clean up the mess. “We have our limitations. One tractor carrying garbage has to make three trips. What can we do?” he said. Private operators are managing the sanitation work in 51 wards. The other nine wards are managed by the BMC.

Cesu has given instructions to all its field officials to prune roadside trees to avoid power-related accidents and complete the work by August. “One branch touching a live electric wire can result in a loss of one unit of power in that particular area,” said public relations officer of Cesu G.B. Sahu.

Cesu is now incurring 38 per cent losses in transmission and distribution. If one per cent of this loss is avoided, the organisation can save Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore per month.

Chief operating officer, Cesu, Utpal Sinha said: “I am not aware of BMC’s complaints. If they do have a complaint on this issue, we will certainly direct our staff to remove the garbage after chopping the tree branches.”

However, Sinha said cutting off dangerously hanging branches of trees was necessary to avoid accidents, especially during the monsoon. “They threaten infrastructure such as transformers and conductors. Accidents could lead to blackouts,” he added.

The Cesu officer said they had already started taking steps to improve power restructuring in the city under the Apex programme. “While taking up power reforms, there will be problems which should be sorted out,” he said.

Under the Capital Expenditure Programme (Capex), the Cesu plans to spend around Rs 1,000 crore on improving power infrastructure. The tender has already been floated and work has begun from the airport area in Bhubaneswar.

Cesu officials said Consumer Grievances Day would be observed on the 7th of each month at all the 20 electrical divisions under Cesu’s for addressing consumer problems. “Anyone can come and lodge the complaint. Cesu has also directed field officers to ensure load balancing so that transformers don’t get burnt and electrical accidents are avoided,” said an official.

Besides the capital, Cesu provides power to about 15 lakh consumers in nine districts of Odisha.