No power supply for 5 days, Ambala residents lock dept office; 12 booked

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Ambala, July 13

Irked over no power supply for the past five days, a group of local residents led by Deputy Mayor of the Ambala Municipal Corporation Rajesh Mehta on Thursday staged a dharna and locked the gate of the switch house and the office of Power Department at Ghas Mandi in Ambala City.

The residents also blocked the road and raised slogans against the government. Department officials rushed to the spot, but failed to persuade the protesters.

The Deputy Mayor, councillors Jasbir Singh and Fakir Chand, leaders of the Congress and AAP and some local residents were detained, but released later. A large number of people had gathered outside the police station in support of those held.

A case was registered against 12 persons at the Ambala City police station on the complaint of the SDO, west subdivision, UHBVN, Ghas Mandi, Ambala City.

Mehta said, “People are without power and water supply for the last five days. We are only getting assurances. The administration has failed to provide any relief. We were forced to stage the dharna. A case has been registered against us, but we will continue to raise the voice of the public.”

The SDO said Mehta along with nearly 15 persons reached the 11kV switch house, held a protest and locked the main gate.

Narender Singh, SHO, Ambala City police station, said, “We tried to persuade the protesters, but refused to listen following which necessary action was taken. They were detained and later released after a warning as several of them were also contributing to the relief work. A case has been registered and their arrest in the case is pending.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Dr Shaleen held a review meeting regarding relief operations with district officials and directed them to restore the power and water supply in the affected areas.

KS Bhoria, Superintending Engineer, UHBVN, said due to waterlogging in power houses, the department was facing difficulty in ensuring smooth transmission.

Dr Saket Kumar, Managing Director, UHBVN, visited local substations and said the department was making arrangements to restore the power supply at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force continued its operations in Ambala and air-dropped relief material in affected villages. It has deployed two medium lift helicopters, which till Thursday afternoon dropped around 2,000 kg of relief material in the affected villages. Army personnel have also been conducting the rescue operations in the district.

Tangri level up, triggers panic

The water level in the Tangri increased again on Thursday, triggering panic among resident of colonies situated along the river. Later, the water started receding. The DC said there was no fresh alert and the situation would get normal in a couple of days.

ACS, DC visit flood-hit areas

ACS Ankur Gupta, DC Dr Shaleen and other officials used a boat to visit flooded areas, including Alauddin Majra, Khanna Majra, Baknaur, Ghaggar, Devi Nagar, Jansui Head and Narwana branch. Residents requested them to restore power supply at earliest.