Facing prolonged power cuts, residents of Biran village in Bhiwani have staged a protest and issued a warning to the administration to restore a 24-hour power supply in the village within three days, failing which they would resort to gheraoing the offices and residences of officials, MPs and MLAs.
Hundreds of residents of Biran village staged a protest against the prolonged power cuts being imposed in the village, even though it was covered under the state government’s Jagmag scheme due to 100 per cent recovery of electricity bills.
The villagers also gheraoed the residences of BJP MP from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Dharambir Singh and the local MLA and submitted a memorandum demanding immediate restoration of the power supply.
The delegation, led by village sarpanch Sultan Singh, later submitted a memorandum to the public representatives. The sarpanch alleged that the village had been reeling under an acute power crisis for nearly two months. The villagers alleged that the Power Department had been citing overloading and other reasons for the frequent outages, while the officials had failed to provide a permanent solution despite repeated assurances.
They said the prolonged power cuts during the summer had severely disrupted daily life, besides leading to an acute drinking water shortage in the village. The villagers alleged that the promises of a 24-hour electricity supply made during the elections under the Jagmag scheme had now proved hollow. Despite repeatedly approaching officials and public representatives, no concrete measures had been taken, forcing them to launch the protest.
The villagers said 14 electricity poles had collapsed during a storm in the region on May 3, and the infrastructure had still not been restored even after two months. The village, with around 1,400 households and a population of nearly 6,000, was covered under the Jagmag scheme, and the residents paid their electricity bills regularly, which was mandatory. Despite this, they faced severe power disruptions.
They said the MP had spoken to the officials after the protest and directed them to resolve the issue.
However, the villagers warned that if the problem was not permanently resolved within three days, they would convene a mahapanchayat and announce a bigger agitation.
MP Dharambir Singh said 2,000 electricity poles had been damaged across the Bhiwani circle during the thunderstorm, and the administration had been working continuously to restore the network. He added that a sharp rise in electricity demand was also a reason for the power cuts and informed that Haryana’s power demand had touched a record 14,500 MW this year, against the normal demand of around 11,500 MW.
