Power cut at event attended by energy min; two suspended

Varanasi: UP energy minister A K Sharma was caught in an awkward situation during an event to celebrate the redevelopment of Hanuman Ghat Temple on banks of Tamsa river in Mau district when the area plunged into darkness due to power cut on Wednesday evening.Sharma was in his hometown on the eve of another event on Thursday to highlight the achievements of eight years of Yogi govt when power supply snapped. He had to use torchlight of mobile phones to read parts of his speech and even to search for his shoes.Within a few hours after the minister left the Tamsa river bank, Purvanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) headquarters office in Varanasi released suspension order of SDO Prakash Singh and junior engineer of the area concerned in Mau, O P Kushwaha. Besides, PVVNL personnel department officials said that an explanation was also sought after issuing charge sheet from Mau's superintending engineer Sanjeev Vyas and executive engineer Bhuvan Raj Singh.Sharma was to address as chief guest the ‘8 Years of Excellence' event in Mau on Thursday. As he reached his home district on the eve of the event, he attended an event to mark the rejuvenation of Hanuman Ghat Temple. While he was speaking about the temple's development project, there was power outage in the area. He completed his speech in torchlight while the minister also had to use his mobile phone light to find his shoes. The electricity department officials swung into action to restore power supply, but before they could succeed, the minister left the venue.

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