While the electricity department employees went on a one-day strike against the privatisation move in Chandigarh, residents in various parts of the city had to face the brunt, with some complaining of as long as 20-hour power cuts.
Ramesh Chander Hastir, 86, who lives in Sector 37-C, said power at houses on two lanes went around midnight and didn’t return till Tuesday night. “The electricity department had listed some complaint numbers in newspapers, but none was working. I live with my 83-year-old wife, and we both have various health issues. Staying without hot water and heaters for so long is very taxing on senior citizens like us,” he said.
In Sector 43-A, residents complained that power went on Monday night itself. Dr Sonika, a resident said: “With schools running online, children suffered the most. My son was unable to appear for his unit test on Tuesday.” In Manimajra, the whole area blacked out at 8pm on Monday, according to Imran Mansuri, a local. Near the Morigate neighbourhood, electricity went around 6am, and the area stayed without power even till 9pm on Tuesday.
Various areas in Sector 33 also remained without power since morning. Kuljinder Sra, general secretary of the Sector 33-B resident welfare association (RWA), said: “Nobody was listening to our complaints. Power was coming and going in different areas. Rather than power failure, it looked like it was being done deliberately.”
{{/usCountry}}Various areas in Sector 33 also remained without power since morning. Kuljinder Sra, general secretary of the Sector 33-B resident welfare association (RWA), said: “Nobody was listening to our complaints. Power was coming and going in different areas. Rather than power failure, it looked like it was being done deliberately.”
{{/usCountry}}Gopal Dutt Joshi, general secretary, UT Powermen Union, denied any sabotage. “We stayed at our homes and have nothing to do with the disruption in power supply. We had given a month’s notice for the strike, and it is the administration’s failure if it could not maintain proper power supply.”
The union has also announced a 72-hour strike from February 22. They have been protesting against privatisation of the department. The Centre has already cleared ₹871-crore bid of Kolkata-based RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group.