The hostage crisis involving Bharatiya Rail Bijlee Company Limited employees and their families in Bihar’s Aurangabad district ended on Tuesday, PTI reported. More than 300 villagers had camped outside the Bharatiya Rail Bijlee Company Limited township’s main gate confining 150 people inside the premises for three days.
The villagers had prevented the firm’s employees and their families from entering or exiting the premises as part of their protest demanding a “resumption of power supply” to their homes.
The crisis ended after the Bharatiya Rail Bijlee Company Limited agreed to supply power to the villages until the South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited provides them with electricity connections. Representatives from the Aurangabad district administration, the Bharatiya Rail Bijlee Company and villagers who were part of the protest attended the meeting where the matter was discussed.
The 1,000-megawatt power plant is a joint venture between the National Thermal Power Corporation and the Railways. While the villagers alleged that the plant had disconnected their power supply, the NTPC claimed the villages were stealing power from the township, reported the Hindustan Times.
Vishwanath Chandan, National Thermal Power Corporation’s Public Relations manager, told PTI that the decision to supply power was taken on humanitarian grounds. “The issue will be permanently settled with the help of local administration in a time-bound manner,” Chandan said.
On Monday, the power company had lodged a First Information Report with the police, accusing the villagers of throwing stones, burning tyres, and cutting off supplies of essential commodities like milk, vegetables and medicines by not allowing anyone to either enter or exit the township.
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