Dikchu roils in unkind power-cuts on the banks of mega hydel project

Outside the SBI branch at Dikchu waiting for the power to come back and allow their bank accounts to be used.

DIKCHU, 12 June: Irregular power supply on the banks of the 510 MW Teesta Stage V dam-site at Dickhu and parts of Lower Dzongu continues to frustrate residents here. The problem is not new and this rubs even more salt into the hurt of the people here who have to watch the project site all lit up every night but themselves suffer through extensive power cuts.
The past month has been especially bad, so much so that the overworked generator at the State Bank of India’s Dikchu branch having collapsed, leaving customers with important work with the bank, unserviced. 
“I have been coming here for the past three days to withdraw cash from the bank and have been turned away because the bank’s computers are not working because of the extended power cut,” said an irate resident of Lower Dzongu who finds it hard to believe that the power supply situation is so bad that he cannot even withdraw his own money.

Similarly, Tika Maya Nepal from Khesey basti shared that she walked 12 kms to the bank and waited there from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday to withdraw money but had to trudge back because there was no power supply.
Spend a day near the bank and one will meet many people from Sangtok and Lum villages of Dzongu as well who had to return without their banking work done.
Sudipta Basu, the SBI Dikchu Manager, complains that SBI’s image of public service built over a 100 years was being hurt by the inadequacy of power supply here.
“How can we give proper service to our customers with up to 20 hours of no electricity supply every day,” he says.
Chung Chung Tongden Lepcha, a social worker here, highlights that they worked hard to bring the hydel project here hoping that the affected villages will be benefitted eventually. This is obviously not even happening in basic things like uninterrupted power supply.
“We have been complaining to higher authorities about the matter but our voices have not been heard,” he adds.
When the linemen for the area are contacted, they are also found at a loss to explain the reasons behind the irregularities of supply.
The affected villages are Pheedang in Lower Dzongu, Labargari, Naya Bazaar Dikchu North Sikkim, Dikchu Bazaar, 12th Mile, Jang, Kazitar etc.   
The extended periods of black-outs also expose the area to higher risks of thefts and accidents.