THE PLIGHT OF POWER CUT

 Power Cut ; Battering the heart of local people

Semiliguda, KORAPUT : His bangles have few buyers now…he draws lesser profits and takes home even lesser. He is 
P. Nilachal Patra*, in his early 30’s staying at Semiliguda, Koraput with his family of 7 (an old mother, a financially dependent brother and his family and two toddlers). He owns a cosmetics store. Years back when he set-up his cosmetics store, there were fewer people in the same trade and most believed that it was very enterprising of him to venture into this business especially at a time when very few women in this underdeveloped region were beauty conscious. ‘Aren’t we paying taxes,’ he says with a shiver in his voice on being questioned about frequent power cuts, well he does pay his taxes and he pays them on time, he claims. With similar instances, all over this Telugu dominance business region there are others who face the cold blues here. Meet Das Babu, a fifty years old working at a tailoring shop. He manages to finish most of his sewing before thirty minutes past seven, after which he can’t see the needle of his machine and all automatic tailoring machines comes to a halt due to power cut.

Shopping hours for the people in this small location is usually during day-time. Six pm to eight pm has been the prime time for decades over now. But to the dismay of shop owners and petty businessmen, everyone here fails to understand how ‘six to eight’ remains the most desirable time for Southco authorities to do with the frequent power cuts. And under such circumstances, buyers avoid to venture out in the dark. This does not end here, with NH-43 running through the busy and only marketing hub of the town while trucks, dumpers and other heavy vehicles following each other’s trail on the NH, residents fear for their life. This accident prone highway fails to draw attention on its favor and largely meets its end at the pity of the government. Many advocate that this sequential cut is due to the power thefts practiced by many affluent as well as petty businessmen, so it might be stated reasonable enough for the moonlit streets. Though power cut can never be cited for an excuse to curb power thefts there should be proper counter measures to avoid further malfeasance. Reasons like bangles are varied in their sizes but a sufferer’s hues remains constant, for the former may vary all the time but the later only changes its diameter. And diameters bigger or smaller they are circles, ironically ‘zero in’ just a look alike of the traditional bangles…only measuring the circle like a blot on development.

*P. Nilachal Patra is pseudonym of the 32years old subject.




(Shreesthi S. Mishra is  presently pursuing P.G. at Central University on journalism. She is an hons. graduate in Commerce from  R.D. Women s college Bhubaneswar and a confirmed leo. She loves  Rock music,prawns and good books.Impromptu writing on any subject is her forte .Pink Floyd, Philosophy and Business writing attract her.In summary, a personality  who is exploring about her true self ,not caring whether it is puritan or cocktails. She can be reached at shreesthi@hotmail.com/shreesthi@gmail.com)