Purusottampur: Villagers have socially boycotted members of two families allegedly after the lineman mistakenly cut off the connection of a street light at Bhatakumarada village under this police limits in Ganjam district, sources said here Sunday. The families of Yudhisthir Nahak and his maternal uncle Uma Das are facing the wrath of the villagers. Sources said that the local power office had installed a street light in October 2021 at Bhatakumarada village near the house of Yudhisthir for the benefit of villagers.
However, finding some errors in connection, Yudhisthir called the lineman and asked him to rectify those. The electrician, however, did just the opposite. Instead of rectifying the problems, he cut off the connection. Only in the evening, villagers came to know about the development when the light did not glow. The villagers convened a meeting and held Yudhisthir responsible for their ordeal and fined him Rs 30,000 as a penalty.
Left with no option, Yudhisthir paid some money as a fine to the villagers but failed to pay the outstanding amount as his father was unwell. Angry over non-payment, the villagers socially boycotted him. They warned other residents not to talk with Yudhisthir or his family members or else face consequences. The village committee engaged a person to announce the order by beating gongs in all parts of the village.
However, members of the committee which had ostracised Yudhisthir came to know that the family of Uma was in touch with the former. They decided to boycott him also February 15 onwards.
Later, Yudhisthir and Uma visited the Purussotampur police station and lodged a complaint. Purusottampur police registered a case and SDPO Rajanikant Samal and IIC Piyush Ranjan Chhotray called both groups to the police station and asked them to resolve the dispute amicably. The villagers have promised to sit down together and resolve the issue within a week.