Gurgaon unplugged

People relying almost entirely on diesel-powered generator sets for electricity had the toughest time while the oil strike lasted, reports Sanjeev K. Ahuja.

People relying almost entirely on diesel-powered generator sets for electricity had the toughest time while the oil strike lasted.

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In Gurgaon, for instance, many of the roughly 150 high-rise buildings get all their electricity from diesel-run captive power plants.

The DLF Group that has dozens of residential and commercial high-rises had 2-3 days’ stock of diesel left for its gensets. “We were more worried about the towers, as these depend entirely on gensets,” said KK Bhattacharya of DLF Group.

In the Silver Oaks high-rise, the condominium association switched off some of the lifts while alternatively running others. “If we do not get diesel even on Saturday, we would have no option but to stop all lifts,” said Gulshan Sharma, president of Silver Oaks Condominium Association.