Patna, (Bihar Times): Three persons were killed and 28
injured, some of them seriously, when police opened
fire on, what the officials claimed, rampaging mob
protesting against the chronic power shortage in
Kahalgaon on the outskirts of Bhagalpur town on
Friday.
The mob was furious over the total denial of power to
them for the last so many months though the National
Thermal Power Corporation plant is situated there. The
people organized Bhagalpur bandh today to press their
charter of demands which include 24 hours power supply
to all the villages and localities situated in the
eight kilometers radius of the power plant.
On December 28 too a similar bandh was organized in
Bhgalapur and Purnea for the same reason and on
December 27 Gaya was brought to stand-still by the
protestors. The state has been passing through
unprecedented power-crisis in for the last many
months. The power shortage in winter, when the
consumption is low, only suggests darker summer ahead.
In Bhagalpur today the situation turned out of control
when the mob laid a siege outside the NTPC and stopped
a train carrying coal from Lalmatia mine to the plant.
Police claim that the mob resorted to stone-pelting
and started destroying the public property. The
protestors were initially brutally caned, then
tear-gas shells were lobbed on them. When this failed
to bring normalcy the police opened fire killing three
and injuring many more.
The people were furious with the state government’s
inability to provide power, when in the past they used
to get electricity from the NTPC quite regularly.
What incensed the local people is that while they are
groping in the dark the residences and offices of the
sub-division officer, block development officer and
police station are getting light throughout the day.
Taken aback by the sudden outburst of the people’s
anger chief minister Nitish Kumar ordered the
additional director general of police (headquarters),
Abhayanand and home secretary, Afzal Amanullah, to
rush to the spot and take the stock of the situation.
Be it in Bhagalpur or elsewhere in the state the anger
is more directed against the administration officials
as they are getting power while the people are made to
suffer. In many district towns of the state 20 hours
power cut has become a permanent phenomenon. The
beleaguered state government is now trying to put all
the blame on the Centre, when the fact is that it is
more a case of mismanagement than generation.
In today’s police action not only were the mob
targeted, even the mediapersons have to face the
administration’s fury. They were caught and shut in a
room by the police so that they can not do the
reporting.