Residents protest, block road after long power outage in Sec-89A

1,200 families in Gurugram faced a 24-hour power outage after a contractor damaged power feeders during unauthorized drilling, prompting resident protests.

Gurugram: At least 1,200 families faced power outage for around 24 hours after a contractor damaged both the main and back-up feeders supplying power to Adani Angan affordable homes in Sector-89A by carrying out unauthorised drilling work, officials said on Thursday.

Residents said the outage started at 8:30pm on Tuesday and was restored at 8:50pm on Wednesday. (HT)

Residents said the outage started at 8:30pm on Tuesday and was restored at 8:50pm on Wednesday. However, power supply tripped again within an hour due to a fuse fault, prompting residents to block Pataudi road for half an hour, disrupting traffic.

Police reached the spot, pacified the residents and sought assistance from society authorities and the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVN)to restore supply, added officials.

An FIR was registered against the contractor for damaging the 33kV feeders during underground drilling.

Shyambir Saini, superintendent engineer (circle-I), DHBVN, said the private feeders were damaged at two locations due to an unauthorised excavation by a private contractor. “This resulted in the long outage. The feeder was laid down by the builder. There was no disruption in power supply from DHBVN,” he added.

Residents also alleged that the contractual staff involved in maintenance and repair work for DHBVN kept harassing them for hours.

Pankaj Gairola, RWA president said there are at least 1,500 families living in the society’s eight towers. “We face the same situation every summer. This was the worst till now,” he added.

Gairola said contractual employees asked the residents to arrange equipment for repair works.

“Since its an affordable society, there is no power backup for the apartments but only for the common area. Inverters were drained out. People slept in the common area,” he said.

Sacchidananda Swain, a resident, said their patience ended when the power supply snapped again on Wednesday night. “Children, senior citizen and pregnant women were the worst affected. I kept using a hand-held fan to keep my six-month-old son asleep for the whole night,” he added.

A senior DHBVN official said they will look into the allegation of harassment by third-party contractual employees. “Residents can approach them to file complaint for necessary action,” he added.