People?s anger begins to spill on roads

Powerless. Citizens have now become desperate. With long hours of electricity cuts and the hide and seek game it has been playing with the lives of consumers, the cry for power and water are about to become a roar of discontent. Savaged by cruel power cuts and dead tube-wells (due to lack of electricity) the simmering anguish of the citizens is almost at a flashpoint.

Powerless. Citizens have now become desperate. With long hours of electricity cuts and the hide and seek game it has been playing with the lives of consumers, the cry for power and water are about to become a roar of discontent. Savaged by cruel power cuts and dead tube-wells (due to lack of electricity) the simmering anguish of the citizens is almost at a flashpoint.

HT Image

And, it erupted at the Mayo Hall crossing late Thursday night where consumers gathered to protest against the inordinate delay on the part of the maintenance staff of the department in finding a fault in the 33 kv line, that comes from Minto Park to Mayo Hall and which ultimately feeds eight power sub-stations in the City North area. Though several lakh people living in this area were affected, it was the younger lot which could not stop itself from venting its ire against the department and its callous ways of handling things. Ultimately, the cops were called in to handle them after they resorted to a road blockade at the State Public Service Commission crossing.

Their anguish had stemmed from the fact that after spending nearly the entire day without power they were expecting some relief in the evening. Power did come later but only for a short duration. Then it started coming and going in a manner as if somebody was playing with some kind of switch, which controls the power supply of the entire area.

It was not only at Mayo Hall alone where people had gathered to express their annoyance against the power corporation but the same anger was palpable at  Beli,Tagore Town, Daraganj, Katra and some other areas.

Housewives, children, older people, the sick in hospitals and students preparing for competitive examinations were the worst affected. It may be mentioned that the highest number of students preparing for their various examinations and burning the midnight oil are from this city. They come here from all over the State and are residing in lodges, hostels, and private houses in every nook and corner. While, this was the scene under Mayo Hall, consumers in the old city especially Chowk have been in no better condition. People in Kareli are having power for hardly 12 hours and that too in gaps. In Chowk, citizens are said to have enjoyed the comfort of electricity for just a couple of hours during the past three days. Since water in nearly every household can only be had if power is there people have been reeling under an acute water crisis also.