Thaindian News

Patna, March 26 (IANS) Acute power shortage coupled with a soaring mercury has sparked protests in many parts of Bihar with some hot-headed protesters Saturday blocking roads, ransacking electricity board offices, and holding an official hostage for some hours a day earlier.

Hundreds of people were protesting in over a dozen districts, including Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Purnia, Kishanganj, Gaya and Saharsa, since Friday morning.

Bhagalpur witnessed violent protests when angry people, including women and children, forced a shutdown in the town and pelted stones at vehicles of district officials and police.

“Some protesters attacked public property, set ablaze electricity department vehicles and ransacked its offices,” said a police official in Bhagalpur.

The protesters Friday held a Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) engineer hostage for over three hours.

“People in Saharsa, Kishanganj, Purnia and Muzaffarpur blocked roads, burnt tyres and ransacked BSEB offices during protests Saturday morning,” a police officer said.

The issue rocked the Bihar assembly Friday and Saturday. Many legislators, including those from the ruling Janata Dal-United and its ally Bharatiya Janata Party, raised the issue and demanded that the government take action on the issue.

Bihar Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said in the assembly that the government was helpless as power supply in the state was mainly dependent on the central grid.

The state is facing a deficit of around 1,000-1,200 MW of power a day, officials said.

Bihar requires some 1,800-2,000 MW of power a day but it is getting only 600-650 MW from the central pool, despite a daily allocation of 1,646 MW.

BJP legislator Amerendra Pratap Singh cautioned the government that there was a serious danger to law and order if power supply was not restored.

He said the power shortage had led to widespread resentment among people.

With the mercury soaring above 37 degrees Celsius in Patna and many other districts, people were trying to beat the heat with hand fans and wet napkins.

Capital city Patna is an exception of sorts, but most small towns and district headquarters are reeling under acute power outages.

According to BSEB officials, the crisis is due to the shutdown of three units at Talcher power plant in Orissa and one unit at Kahalgaon, near Bhagalpur.

Hareram Pandey, a BSEB official, told IANS: “The state is dependent on central grid for power. If any supply of power is reduced, it badly hits Bihar.”

He said the state’s own electricity generation was just 45-50 MW from its two thermal power units at Barauni in Begusarai and Kanti at Muzaffarpur district.

The situation is particularly grim in Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Saharsa which faces power cuts of over 24 hours at a stretch.

People in Gaya, a Buddhist pilgrimage and an international tourist centre, get electricity for only four to five hours a day.

BSEB officials said their offices have become a soft target of people’s anger.