Noida residents fume over power outages, seek upgrades

Residents alleged that despite complaints and attempts to reach out to the power officials, the situation remains unaddressed for several days

NOIDA: Residents of Sector 28, 29 and 37 in Noida have been grappling with frequent power outages for the last few weeks, leaving them exhausted. The poor electricity infrastructure in the residential sectors has made life miserable and the recurrent outages lasting for hours on days has exacerbated the situation.

Pramod Gagonia, executive engineer, work circle 2, Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PUVVNL Noida), meanwhile said that the power outage lasts barely about four hours. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Residents alleged that despite complaints and attempts to reach out to the power officials, the situation remains unaddressed for several days.

Some others say that frequent power cuts and voltage fluctuations are occurring due to the abysmal electricity infrastructure. They want urgent upgrades including new transmission lines, substations, among other things.

“On Monday, there was a nine-hour-long power outage in Sector 29. The discom officials did not give any prior information to residents about it. We were told it will be fixed shortly. But it took them nine hours to restore power,” said Neelam Sehgal, a resident.

“Earlier too, outages were frequent. But since last year, the situation was much better. However, this summer has been very harsh for us due to the power cuts and faults have increased manifold,” she added.

“The voltage fluctuations are playing havoc with the electrical appliances as these have now become sensitive due to frequent fluctuations and sudden shutdowns,” said CS Tiwari, another resident.

“When everyone is praising the pleasant weather and rains, we are praying that thundershowers do not result in snapping of the power cables which are already in a dilapidated state,” he added.

Ranjit Mukherji, a resident of Sector 29, meanwhile said that the power cuts in his ward were being witnessed during the rainy season only. “But the electricity infrastructure definitely needs to be upgraded here,” he said.

RWA Sector 37 comprises Sector 37, 29, and 28. There are a total 4,792 houses in three sectors, having a population of about 35,000, as per information from RWA, Sector 37.

“On Monday, there was some fault in the transformer of Sector 29 due to which, residents had to face 9–10-hour-long power cut. The power supply was restored later at night. The power discom officials either do not take the calls or when they do, they give will false promises of restoring the faults shortly but it never happens. The poles and cables need to be replaced but nothing is being done to address this”, said Kavita Jamil, vice chairperson, Arun Vihar Residents Welfare Association, Sector 28, 29 and 37.

Pramod Gagonia, executive engineer, work circle 2, Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PUVVNL Noida), meanwhile said the power outage lasts barely about four hours.

“The power was disrupted for four hours as the transformer in Sector 29 malfunctioned. It had to be replaced, and it was a long process before it was restored. For infrastructure, a meeting was held on Tuesday where all these issues were discussed at length. I recently joined and am taking up all these issues to ensure they are addressed. But upgrading infrastructure is a time-taking process,” he said.