Mohali hit by outages as power corporation employees go on strike

Incessant rains and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) employees’ three-day strike have left residents of Mohali and Kharar reeling under long power outages for the past two days.

Residents of Sector 89, Phase-11 and Kharar complained that power supply has remained erratic for the past two days, with outages stretching up to 8 to 10 hours.

Kharar residents complained that there was power outage in many parts of the town for eight hours. “Power was in-and-out all night too,” a Sector 89 resident said.

Those residing in Phase 11 were worse off as they received power only for one hour in the evening. “A power pole collapsed near HDFC bank which disrupted the supply. There was no update from PSPCL officials. Nobody was picking up the phone,” said Phase 11 resident AS Walia.

At Zirakpur, the PSPCL office bore a deserted look throughout the day as the Junior Engineer, linesmen and clerks struck work. Both the field and office staff were also on a strike while.

Thousands of the corporation’s employees across the state began their three-day strike on Monday. The protesters are demanding the creation of new posts and filling of vacancies, increase in ex-gratia, cashless medical facilities and release of pending allowances.