Mayurbhanj (Odisha): Lights went off while President Droupadi Murmu was delivering the speech at the 12th convocation of the Maharaja Shri Ramchandra Bhanjadeo University here on Saturday. The whole auditorium in the university plunged into darkness. The President's speech was disrupted by a power outage. According to the itinerary, today was the last day of President Murmu's three-day visit to Mayurbhanj. As per today's programme, the President was the chief guest at the convocation of Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University.
While she was delivering the speech suddenly the power went off. While the President did not flinch and continued her speech in darkness and she showed her displeasure in the most graceful way possible. The President was heard saying that power is “playing hide and seek” and the audience sat patiently to hear her though nothing was visible.
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Murmu, who hails from Rairangpur in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, is considered the daughter of the soil. According to the information, the power went off nine minutes after President Droupadi Murmu began her speech. There was no power from 11:56 am to 12:05 pm. The power outage was later confirmed by the Odisha Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Department.
Tata Power, North Odisha Power Distribution Limited’s CEO Bhaskar Sarkar said that there was no distribution disruption in the hall and the glitch was due to some defects in the electrical wiring. Vice-Chancellor Santosh Kumar Tripathy tendered an apology for the power glitch during the President's speech. “I am extremely sorry for the unfortunate incident. We are ashamed of the power failure. We will order an inquiry into the incident and action will be taken against persons responsible for the power failure,” the Vice-Chancellor said.
