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Amid power cuts, Haryana power body observes establishment day in Ambala
Uneven power cuts have largely affected students studying online, employees working from home and farmers sowing paddy
Amid irregular electricity supply and low voltage issues in urban and rural regions of Ambala district, a symbolic protest was observed by residents to raise the issue before deputy commissioner (DC) Vikram on Thursday, as the power supplier, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) celebrated its 22nd establishment day at Panchayat Bhawan.
People from different areas of Cantonment gathered at the venue with placards and later lit candles to express their suffering. Leading the protesters, Amarjeet Arya of Shivpuri Colony, a home appliances repair worker, claimed that instead of providing relief, the board had created problems for them.
“Due to shortage of staff, if there is a fuse failure, one has to wait for at least four hours for the repair. Functioning of the local complainant centre should be improved,” he said.
A 60-year-old homemaker, Santosh, said that it was almost impossible for them to cook food without electricity and they had to spend sleepless nights without even a fan.
As reported earlier, uneven power cuts have largely affected students studying online and employees working from home.
Farmers in rural belt also suffering
Due to late monsoon and low voltage, farmers in the rural belt are facing difficulties during the ongoing paddy season. One Dimple of Bhanokheri said that farmers like him were worried that if there would be no water supply, planting of paddy would be difficult. “Even if it rains later or water is made available through other sources, it will be useless for the crop,” he said.
On being asked about the shortage of staff at the complaint centre, Sukhbir, the executive engineer, said that instead of two existing employees for six public lines, there will be four more to speak to the complainants.
Superintendent engineer (SE) Vinay Burnwal said, “Due to rising temperatures and increasing load, undoubtedly there are power cuts or voltage issues. Consumers are also not disclosing their actual load. To meet the expected demand, we’ve already added or transferred loads of at least 100 transformers in the district. The situation is expected to improve in a week.”
DC Vikram said that he had instructed the SE to increase the manpower wherever required and split the load of feeders with highest consumers or fluctuations.
“The employees of the department are unsung heroes who worked tirelessly even during the pandemic. We observed the day for them,” he said.
