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When several areas of Bhubaneshwar plunged into darkness on the evening of July 17, 2002, many residents were under the impression that it was another breakdown following thunderstorms and heavy showers—a common enough occurrence during the monsoon. It was only from the next morning’s papers that they came to know that it was not an ad hoc disruption in power supply, but scheduled power cuts imposed by the Grid Corporation of Orissa, commonly known as GRIDCO. The power cut regime was back and disgruntled consumers, already burdened by increasing tariffs, could do little except curse the Government and its much -hyped power reforms.

That same evening, another power-related drama was unfolding in a town in western Orissa. About 60 students of the VSS Medical College in Burla, near Sambalpur, had gone to meet the Managing Director of WESCO, the company in charge of supplying electricity to Western Orissa. According to reports, the students were prevented from entering the MD’s office and there were heated arguments between the agitating students and the security guards.

The situation took an ugly turn when the security guards opened fire without provocation and 11 students were injured. The angry students turned their ire on the Principal of the medical college, Dr. S. Mohapatra. He was manhandled, his office ransacked and he had to be hospitalised.

The students who had been forced to endure long hours of unscheduled power cuts during the examination season had a valid reason for complaining because, on June 18, WESCO had signed an agreement with the medical authorities assuring uninterrupted power supply during the examination period, but it failed to keep up the supply even during prime study hours, thus subjecting the students to untold misery.

Meanwhile, the firing incident has sparked off resentment among the medical college students who took to road blocks and protest marches. Their demands include the termination of the services of the MD of WESCO, the Principal and Rs. 20 lakh compensation to the injured students. On July 18, the State Government ordered an enquiry by the Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Northern Range, and the report is to be submitted within three months. The injured students are being treated in the Medical College hospital and the government is bearing their medical expenses.

Meanwhile, in the State capital, the repercussion of the firing incident in Burla was witnessed in the protest by Youth Congress activists who went on to ransack the GRIDCO office. Apart from condemning the Burla incident, the activists were protesting against the large-scale power cuts in the State, and also demanding a judicial probe.