TURA: At a time when people in Garo Hills region have been forced to comply with the frequent unannounced power cuts by the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) the Citizens for Social Democracy (CSD) has made a shocking revelation that the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) of Dalu Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL) has been absconding from duty for over seven months since October 28 last year.
In a statement issued here on Saturday the CSD stated that due to the absence of the official for such a long time the Dalu MePDCL Distribution Sub-Division at Barengapara has not been functioning properly as applications and complaints have been lying untouched on his table.
According to the CSD the office staff have also claimed that they were unable to carry out necessary works due to his absence as prior instructions from the officer was required.
The CSD claimed that the usual clearing of tree branches over power lines had also not been done since last year which was supposed to be done before the monsoons every year. It alleged that the vehicles used by the maintenance crew to carry out maintenance works were also out of order and pointed out that it was the duty of the concerned SDO to make every effort to carry out the responsibilities which lies before the department.
Stating that the irresponsible and indifferent attitude of the SDO towards his duties and the problems being faced by the people had made them feel neglected, the CSD has written a complaint letter to the Executive Engineer, MeECL Tura and warned that it would not tolerate such negligence by the official and resort to its own course of action if the situation persists.