Kendrapada: Villagers of Bhitaragada, Budhi and Jaguleipada in Kendrapada district’s Rajnagar block staged a dharna in front of the TPCODL office at Rajnagar on Friday demanding restoration of power to their villages.For the last two weeks, there is no power in their village as overhead cables have been damaged due to heavy rain. It has forced children to study under the light of kerosene lamps and candles. “Villagers are facing a lot of problems without electricity. Students are the worst sufferers,” said Parikhit Sethi of Budhi village. “I have been studying under candlelight but students of other villages are connected with power,” said Manik Mallick, a class VI student of Bhitaragada.Also, people owning mobile phones have to trek one km to recharge those. “We listen to news and songs on radios and mobile phones. Some villagers trek 1.5 km to a nearby village to watch TV,” said Malay Nayak of Budhi. “It is very difficult after dark, particularly when I have to keep the lamp buring on windy days,” said Malati Mallick of Bhitaragada. Also, there is a dearth of kerosene in the villages.As most of the villages are surrounded by forests, the threat from wild animals increases after it is dark. “Most villagers stay indoors after dusk,” said Parikhita Mallick of Bhitaragada.Contacted, Satyaprasad Sahoo, the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of TATA Power Central Odisha Distribution Limited (TPCODL), Rajnagar, said “Due to incessant rain, the overhead cable was disconnected at many places in these villages. We will soon repair and install new overhead cable in the villages to restore power”.
