As mercury rises, Mohali dist reels under long power cuts

Tribune News Service

Mohali, July 1

Despite the tall claims made by the state government about surplus power, the residents here are facing long cuts amid hot and humid conditions.

Various subdivisions of the district were left without electricity for nearly 10 hours on Wednesday, forcing the residents to come out on to streets.

Accompanied by senior leader and Dera Bassi MLA NK Sharma, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) workers along with residents today gheraod the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) office in Zirakpur and gave officials concerned a day’s time to rectify the system.

“In the past three days, there are unscheduled cuts in Zirakpur and Dera Bassi, and officials are not even taking up the calls from residents,” said Sharma.

“Due to power failure, people are also not getting proper water supply,” he said.

“We have given them (PSPCL officials) a day’s ultimatum, failing which we will intensify our protest and block the highway,” Sharma added.

Meanwhile, people blocked the Kurali bypass by placing a tractor on the road to protest the erratic power supply.

The commuters had to face inconvenience due to the blockage and the police were seen diverting the traffic on other routes.

Kurali resident Santokh Singh said: “There was no power in our area for the whole night, but the officials are not even responding to the calls.”

People also protested against the erratic supply in Dera Bassi, Majri and Siswan. They blocked the roads and raised slogans against the authorities concerned.

“Due to increase in temperature and humid conditions, the demand for power has increased manifold. The situation will improve as we have imposed a cut on industries,” said Ravinder Singh Saini, PSPCL Chief Engineer (South Zone).

Meanwhile, the residents said it was difficult to do their day-to-day works without electricity in this hot and humid weather. Inverters have also conked out, they said.

The worst-affected are the children who have their online classes.

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