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Irked with outages, locals thrash power operator at Utrethia substation
In Utrethia, the situation went a little out of hand in the wee hours of Monday when locals gathered outside the power substation with rods and sticks to ‘beat up’ the staff present there.
LUCKNOW Despite strict directives from chief minister Yogi Adityanath and several visits from energy minister AK Sharma, the occurrences of prolonged power outages continue to irk residents across the state.
In Utrethia, the situation went a little out of hand in the wee hours of Monday when locals gathered outside the power substation with rods and sticks to ‘beat up’ the staff present there. While most of the staff members managed to flee the spot, the mob caught hold of the power operator and thrashed him. For three hours, the people, who were frustrated with frequent outages, even kept the operator as a hostage.
The development came after the power supply of more than 12,000 houses was snapped for more than 12 hours due to a cable fault. Notably, Utrethia’s old substation gets supply through underground cables from the Sarojini Nagar Transmission Centre and it took a long time for the LESA engineers to detect the fault in the cable. The fault, which occurred on Sunday noon, was repaired only on Monday.
On the same night, locals barged inside the Azad Nagar substation in Thakurganj. The whole locality had plunged into darkness at 12:15 am. When the power supply was not restored till 1:30 am, the area residents lost patience and went inside the switch yard, demanding closure of all feeders. Taking cognisance, SSO Jagdish Tiwari reached the spot and tried to pacify the raging crowd. However, taking advantage of the kerfuffle, someone snatched the SSO’s official mobile.
On Monday night demonstrations were also reported from 12 other substations of the city, reflecting the poor condition of power supply in the state capital. People affected by the power cuts created a ruckus at the Ambedkar University substation. The mob there even beat up the power staff. As soon as the information was received, a police team reached the spot and pacified locals. In yet another incident, irritated residents gheraoed the Pal Tiraha sub-station of Rajajipuram.
When asked about the incidents, Sanjay Jain, chief engineer, Cis-Gomti, LESA, said, “The incidents of staff being manhandled by locals have been taken seriously. They were performing their duties when some people attacked them. We urge residents to remain calm as the staff is trying its best to repair faults.”
34 transformers damaged across Lucknow
Around 34 transformers were damaged in different parts of city on Monday. The residents of Kharika have complained that even after 15 hours of the transformer getting damaged, it has not been changed. Damage to transformer was reported from Asiamau near Pal Trisection in Rajajipuram; from the City Hospital in Alambagh; and from the Jagat Narain Road as well. MD Madhyanchal Bhawani Singh Khangarot has directed the officials to replace damaged transformers immediately.
