In a dramatic display of frustration over administrative negligence, Uttar Pradesh Minister Suresh Rahi personally transported a faulty electrical transformer to a power station in Sitapur district after a junior engineer allegedly misbehaved with him during a phone call.
The incident took place in Koriya Udnapur village in the Hargaon area on Tuesday, where locals had been suffering without electricity for over 24 hours. Upon contacting Junior Engineer Ramesh Mishra to request replacement of the damaged transformer, Rahi was reportedly met with a dismissive and rude response. Mishra allegedly told him to "bring the transformer himself."
Angered by the response, the minister arrived at the village, loaded the defective transformer into his own vehicle, and delivered it to the Hussainganj powerhouse, where he personally handed it over.
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Calling the engineer "incompetent," Rahi accused him of ignoring public complaints and unnecessarily targeting BJP workers with inspections. He further said that despite repeated appeals to the department and even to the Energy Minister, no corrective steps had been taken.
"This episode highlights not just administrative inefficiency but also the growing frustration of public representatives and citizens facing systemic neglect," Rahi said.
Junior Engineer suspended
Following the episode, Energy Minister AK Sharma announced the immediate suspension of the Junior Engineer.
In a post on X, Sharma said, "The indiscreet behaviour by the Junior Engineer (JE) of the Electricity Department in Hargaon, Sitapur district, towards Hon'ble State Minister Shri Suresh Rahi ji is absolutely unacceptable. His insensitivity and negligence are unforgivable."
Sharma added that he had spoken personally with Rahi and instructed senior officials, including the chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited and the managing director of the Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd, to take the incident seriously.
He said this reflected a "top-to-bottom failure" in the department's management and warned all electricity department employees that similar misconduct in the future would lead to strict action.
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