Daringbadi/Brahmanigaon: Simmering anger over a total power blackout in 10 panchayats under Brahmanigaon police limits in Kandhamal district for the last five days reached a tipping point Saturday, with furious residents detaining a junior engineer and holding him captive demanding immediate restoration of power.
The JE was identified as Jatish Pattnaik, posted at Adaba section office under Mohana block in neighbouring Gajapati district. Pattnaik was supervising repairs of a power structure at Damdua in Gajapati when the residents gheraoed and kidnapped him and held him captive in a rest house in Brahamanigaon. The incident sparked tension in the area.
Hundreds of villagers stood guard outside the rest house refusing to release him until power supply is restored in the area. Later, they shifted him to the data entry operator’s room at the Brahamanigaon panchayat office.
Despite the incident occurring in the morning, no senior officials or police were learnt to have reached the place to resolve the problem and free the JE till the time of filing this report. The anger of the villagers however subsided and they brought food for the JE in the afternoon. Pattnaik was reportedly hungry since morning.
Sources said the areas under Brahamanigaon police limits are facing repeated power failures for the last two months while 10 panchayats are under complete blackout for the last five days. This has given rise to resentment among natives of the panchayats as well as among the residents in Paniganda and Katamaha of adjoining Gajapati district.
When contacted, Pattnaik said he was supervising the repairs at Damdua during disconnection of power supply of a 33-kv transmission line from Mohana to Brahamanigaon when the villagers kidnapped him and bundled him into a waiting vehicle. They then confined him and refused to allow him to go till the power officials give them an assurance of round-the-clock power supply to Brahmanigaon.
Ramakanta Baliarsingh, vice-chairperson of Daringbadi panchayat samiti, confirmed the development. “Villagers had no option but to kidnap the JE as the power disruptions had become a frequent affair in the last two months. The continuous blackout for the five days has made life hell for us in this scorching summer. The move was done so that the JE would get an idea of what it is like to spend life in our village without electricity in the gruelling heat,” Baliarsingh said.
Meanwhile, villagers have reportedly planned a meeting Saturday night to chalk out their future course of action. Tension is brewing in the area as people thronged the rest house for a glimpse of the JE who continues to be holed up inside. The residents led by Baliarsingh have warned they would intensify their agitation if their demands are not met at the earliest. PNN
