Millions in Puri, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and mofussil villages remain without electricity and services linked to it like water and telecom, even after 5 days of Fani
Odisha’s ambitious plan to install a power transmission system immune to cyclones and natural disasters has come a cropper, thanks to funds constraints and lack of interest from the state energy department to pursue the plan.
As a result, millions of people in vast swatches of area in economically thriving towns like Puri, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and villages surrounding them still remain without electricity and the services linked to it such as water supply and telecommunication, even after five days of Fani, a summer storm of high severity that hit the coast near Puri last week.
Power infrastructure being a prime casualty to vagaries of recurring cyclones, the then state energy secretary had announced the plan to implement Disaster Resilient Power Supply (DRPS) scheme immediately after Phailin, another devastating cyclone which pummelled the south Odisha coast in 2013. The disaster resilient power system for Ganjam, the worst affected district in Phailin was estimated to cost Rs 1,820 crore. The project was to be part financed by Asian Development Bank (ADB) with a contribution of Rs 615 crore.
Going beyond the drawing board to combat Phailin like future disasters, the state government had planned an underground cabling system for the vulnerable coastal zones as well as the State Capital Region Improvement in Power System (SCRIPS), which aimed to ensure unfettered power supply to Bhubaneswar-Cuttack twin city.
But after five years into hare-brained planning, it took a ‘Fani’ to bust the myths and expose the chinks in Odisha’s brittle power sector infrastructure. But the scheme was put in the back burner following exit of the then energy secretary from the department, said a source…
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