Power crisis looms large over Purnia near Patna

PURNIA: The spectre of power crisis yet again looms large over the divisional headquarters town of Purnia where consumers often have to undergo prolonged spells of power shut-downs and disruptions.
“Frequent disruptions in supply of power often cripple our daily activities and we are forced to keep our fingers crossed,” says Mukesh Sah, a resident of posh Navaratan-hata in Purnia town.Small and medium industries are the worst sufferer due to erratic power supply. “We have to suspend our work when power supply is abruptly snapped. Our daily earnings with which we feed our family members and meet other expenses are also affected,” said a motor mechanic Jumman near the bus terminal.
Power supply is often snapped for hours at stretch. Besides, there is no timeframe when the supply will be disrupted throwing lot of problems for the local consumers. Bihar Vikas Manch (BVM) chief Rakesh Kumar Singh, who has often launched stir against poor power availability, put the blame squarely on the local engineers and officials who, he said, were little bothered about the inconveniences of the consumers. “ We shall again launch an agitation if power supply is not streamlined,” he said on Friday.
North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (NBPDCL) superintending engineer, however, maintained that the present disruptions in supply was due to the fact that the overhead wire lines were being replaced and maintenance work is under progress.
“There is no dearth of power as such,” he said adding consumers will have to live with the problem for next two to three months on account of the work in progress.