Fatehpur residents protest low-voltage power supply
Threaten to gherao Electrical Division office
Our Correspondent
NURPUR, JULY 12
Residents of the Bhadukhar gram panchayat and its surrounding rural areas in Fatehpur subdivision of Kangra district held a protest on Sunday against the authorities of HP State Electricity Board Ltd. (HPSEBL). They alleged that they had been getting an erratic and low-voltage electricity supply in their area for the past few years. They lamented that a public complaint had been submitted on the Chief Minister’s helpline number and a resolution of the gram panchayat was also submitted to the government authorities in August 2019, but in vain.
The affected rural areas are in the jurisdiction of two Fatehpur and Indora Assembly segments of Kangra district but people have been struggling for a regular electricity supply in their houses for the past two years. Local residents Paramjeet Guleria, Baaj Singh, Ratan Chand and Reeta Devi lamented that the humid atmosphere and low voltage had made the lives of villagers miserable. “Fans, air coolers, refrigerators and other electrical gadgets in our homes have become show pieces for want of double phase electricity supply in the village. We have made several appeals to the authorities of the HPSEBL in this regard but we get only hollow assurances,” they said. Uttam Chand, Veena Devi and Radha, residents of surrounding villages of Bhadukhar, said they had been spending sleepless nights for the past two weeks as the voltage had been really low.
Residents of the Bhadukhar panchayat have threatened to gherao the office of the Electrical Division, Fatehpur, if their problem is not addressed within the next two-three days.
KD Sharma, Executive Engineer, Electrical Division, Fatehpur, said one 100-KW transformer had been installed in the area 10 days back but it couldn’t be installed in the affected area as locals hadn’t supported the authorities in providing land for this purpose. “Owing to the non-availability of land nearby in the village it could not be installed in a suitable place where the power load centre has been worked out,” he said.
Caption: Residents of the Bhadukhar gram panchayat protest on Sunday evening. Tribune photo
