Odisha Guv seeks report from govt on power disruption at Prez event

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Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal on Monday sought a report from the state government on the nine-minute power blackout during President Droupadi Murmu's speech at a university's convocation in Baripada.

The governor, who is also the chancellor of the universities, asked Chief Secretary P K Jena and Vice Chancellor of Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanjadeo University, Santosh Tripathy, to file a detailed report on the power disruption in the auditorium while the President was delivering her speech on May 6.

The governor has sought the report from the authorities within seven days.

Tripathy confirmed receiving a letter from the Raj Bhavan and said he will submit the reply on Tuesday.

Lal was present at the auditorium when lights went off during the President's address. Though the auditorium had plunged into darkness for nine minutes, Murmu continued to deliver her speech.

However, the air-conditioners, microphones and fans in the auditorium were functioning normally during the whole blackout from 11.56 am to 12.05 pm.

While the incident has taken the shape of a political row in the state with the BJP demanding an apology from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the incident, MSCBU authorities suspected that the blackout was due to a sabotage.