Shahjahanpur: Braving erratic power supply in sweltering summer, villagers of Banda block in Shahjahanpur district made electricity department sub-divisional officer Gaurav Sharmasit under the scorching sun for over an hour.“The department supplies power to our villages for just six hours every day, while private factories and cold storage get round-the-clock supply. Despite the state government’s promise of least 18 hours of power in rural areas, residents of Banda block are having a tough time due to frequent outages,” the protesters alleged.According to villagers, local MLA Chetram recently held a meeting with power department officials in an effort to improve the situation, but in vain.Considering the situation sensitive, officials called police to deal with any untoward situation.Meanwhile, Sharma assured the protesters that the erratic power condition, which was mainly due to faults in the supply line, would be improved soon.The protest ended only after the intervention of police and local leaders.Banda police station house officer told TOI, “SDO himself sat with the protesters to express his empathy and nobody forced him to do so. The power situation has been erratic for the past one week. The protesters have been assured that the power supply will be improved once the department starts getting supply from the feeder.”

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