Bhubaneswar, May 23: The Odisha government has invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) for six months across the state’s power sector, prohibiting strikes and work stoppages in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution.

The order, issued by the Home Department’s special branch, brings GRIDCO, OPTCL, OHPC, OPGC, and distribution companies such as TPCODL, TPNODL, TPSODL, and TPWODL under its ambit.

Employees, engineers, and service staff in these organizations are barred from strikes or unauthorized absence, which will be treated as industrial action under ESMA.

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The move comes amid severe power disruptions across Odisha, with residents facing frequent outages during peak summer.

From Balangir to Bhubaneswar, Cuttack to Ganjam, households have endured hours-long blackouts. Overloaded transformers have sparked fires, worsening the crisis.

In Balangir, residents staged protests after enduring over 24 hours of unannounced outages, with hundreds gathering on the streets to voice anger. Similar incidents were reported in Cuttack, where locals locked electricity offices after a transformer burnt out without prompt official response.

The crisis has also affected sensitive facilities. In Ganjam’s Sanakhemundi, a community health centre operated in darkness, forcing doctors to provide services without electricity. In Bhubaneswar’s Satya Vihar, a transformer blast led to a prolonged outage, while complaints surfaced that toll-free helplines were non-functional during the crisis.

Deputy Chief Minister KV Singhdeo, who oversees the energy portfolio, acknowledged the widespread distress. He attributed the outages to transformer failures caused by overloading during peak hours, stressing that such breakdowns were beyond immediate control.

However, he assured that emergency measures were underway to restore normalcy, with repair works being carried out on a war footing. Singhdeo emphasized that instructions had been issued to minimize power cuts and expedite solutions.

The government’s decision to enforce ESMA reflects its intent to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply during the ongoing heatwave.

With transformers failing under excessive load and public anger mounting, authorities are racing to stabilize the grid and reassure citizens.

While ESMA curtails industrial action in the sector, the larger challenge remains addressing infrastructure stress and meeting surging demand in the scorching summer months.