Gania: Two families of Gochhabari village under Gania block in Nayagarh district were duped by power supply staff who demanded two goats before supplying electricity to their houses. The families supplied the goats but there was no supply of electricity to their houses.
Sources said Purunapani, Gochhabari, Dimiripati, Indagadu and Kuchumara villages of Badasilinga panchayat under Gania block got electricity connection under Pandit Dindayal Electricity Yojana. Families of Basudev Majhi and Pradeep Majhi were left out as their homes were a few yards from the rest of the villagers.
After several complaints, electric department contractors and workers came to their rescue. However, they demanded two goats in turn. The villagers got 33 electric poles after the demand was met. But the poles were yet to be connected and charged.
When the beneficiaries approached the concerned officials, they were told that there would be no voltage without a transformer. And for this, they were asked to cough up Rs 5,000. The poor families could not meet the demand, and they were forced to live without electricity.
Schemes like Rajiv Gandhi electricity scheme, Biju Gram Jyoti Yojana and Pandit Dindayal Electricity Yojana are meant to benefit the poor and the deprived class. But in Gania block these schemes seemed to be meaningless.
When contacted, Chitta Ranjan Behera, SDO, central electricity supply utility (CESU) expressed helplessness and advised the families to approach the BDO and the collector. PNN