30 Mewat villages without electricity for 5 days

Sumedha Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Gurugram, August 13

It's been five days and hundreds of people in Punhana block are living in darkness. Just a few kms from glitzy Mall Mile of Gurugram, around 30 villages are struggling to keep their routine life going as there is no electricity supply. 

The disruption is being blamed on a technical snag in 32 KV Dondal powerhouse and while authorities continue to spend day after day getting new engineers to detect and rectify the snag residents are left with no option but to make the most of daylight and fight mosquitos at night.

"The villages houses poor people who do not have access to generators or inverters and handful of homes who have this facility too have lost the battle. No electrical equipment is working, not even mobile chargers, pushing us into stone age. There is no water supply and we are buying water is piching a hole in our pockets. Local small-time eateries too have been shut. Our biggest fear of malaria outbreak keeps us awake all night," said Block Samiti member, Jamalgarh, Mohammad Salman. 

It was five days ago that entire area plunged into darkeness. Taking it to be a usual power snag owing to monsoons or short circuiting, the residents did not pay much attention but when power supply did not resume after 24 hours they approached authorities which according to them have been giving them assurance day after day but no actual deadline to restore the power supply.

A senior official of Nuh electricity department said all engineers of district and even some from Faridabad have been camping in powerhouse for the last 5 days but have been unable to detect the snag. They have replaced cables but when feeders of power house are switched on the supply trips after 15 minutes.

"So far, five special teams have inspected the facility but to no avail. We are currently changing cables and have flown in superior equipment from Kolkatta. A new team is expected from Faridabad and we hope to find a solution soon," said this official.

Meanwhile, residents of villages, including Jamalgarh, Tikri, Dhanota and Rupaheri, are up in arms against the government. 

"This is a major crisis but we doubt anybody even knows about it in government so far. We are forced to get up early in the morning, use sunlight for all chores and then spend nights in utter darkness without mobile, TV, fridges and other electrical appliances. Poor families are not able to buy water and are forced to drink water from village ponds. It will not be a surprise if villagers would start dying of water contamination or malaria," said Israil Samiti member from Rupaheri.