AGITATED VILLAGERS GHERAOED BIHIA BLOCK

AGITATED VILLAGERS GHERAOED BIHIA BLOCK

14-AUG-ENG 6

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA------------------------The anger of villagers from Anar village—located in the district's Bihiya block—boiled over due to an ongoing power crisis that has persisted for the past month. Frustrated by the repeated burning out of 63 KVA and 100 KVA transformers, hundreds of villagers marched to the electricity office in Bihiya and staged a strong protest. During the protest, the agitated villagers disrupted the office's power supply for nearly an hour.

The villagers allege that both transformers installed in the village are repeatedly burning out due to loads exceeding their capacity. When one transformer fails, its entire load is shifted to the other, causing the second one to burn out as well. Children, the elderly, and women are facing immense hardship due to the lack of electricity amidst the scorching heat.

Upon receiving news of the commotion, SDO Naveen Kumar of the Electricity Department arrived at the scene. He pacified the villagers and assured them of a permanent solution. The SDO stated that a new 200 kVA transformer would be installed at a single location to replace the two smaller transformers, thereby eliminating the issue of overloading.

The villagers calmed down following the SDO's assurance. Acting promptly, the department installed the new 200 kVA transformer in Anar village late that very night. With the power supply restored following the installation, the villagers breathed a sigh of relief.