Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has ordered a probe into the blackout during President Droupadi Murmu’s address at the convocation ceremony of Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University (MSCBU) in Baripada Saturday.
Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Central Zone) Suresh Dalai held an emergency meeting after the incident and discussed the issue with the District Collector.
Dalai told newsmen that a detailed probe will be conducted on the blackout during the address of the President and action would be taken against those found guilty in the incident.
Vice Chancellor of Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University Santosh Tripathy expressed his regret over the incident and tendered an apology for the blackout during the speech of the President.
He said a three-member committee has been constituted by the university to probe into the incident and action will be initiated on the basis of the findings of the report of the committee.
One employee of the electricity department of the university, however, has been suspended after the incident.
Source said shortly after the President began her speech, the auditorium plunged into complete darkness. Even the standby Generator installed in the university did not work during the blackout forcing the President to continue her speech for at least a few minutes with the help of a dim light.
The Tata Power Northern Odisha District Ltd (TPNODL) authority had clarified that there was no problem from their side in the power supply to the University and stated that it might be due to some internal wiring problems that led to the blackout.
UNI