Daijiworld Media Network - Haridwar

Haridwar, Dec 25: Upset over frequent power cuts in his constituency, Congress MLA Virendra Jaatii from Jhabreda in Haridwar district climbed electricity poles and snapped power supply to the houses of three senior electricity department officials on Tuesday.

According to officials, the incident took place in Roorkee, where Jaatii arrived with his supporters carrying a ladder and cutting tools. He first climbed an electric pole outside the official residence of superintending engineer Vivek Rajput at the Boat Club area and disconnected the electricity supply. The MLA then proceeded with his convoy to the official residences of chief engineer Anupam Singh and executive engineer Vinod Pandey, where power connections were similarly cut.

Jaatii alleged that residents of his constituency have been facing unannounced power cuts lasting five to eight hours daily, leading to severe public inconvenience and heavy losses to businesses. He said he had been raising the issue with the electricity department for the past 10 days but received no response.

The MLA claimed the officials were unable to cope with even an hour-long power cut, while ordinary citizens were forced to endure prolonged outages every day.

Following the incident, the electricity department lodged a complaint against Jaatii at the Roorkee Civil Lines Police Station. In its complaint, the department alleged that the MLA cut power lines without ensuring a proper shutdown, posing a serious risk of a major accident. The act, it said, amounted to a violation of rules and direct interference in government work.