Amid power, water shortage, Gurugram left hot and dry

Kulwinder Sandhu

Gurugram, May 30

The harsh heatwave has made daily activities increasingly challenging for residents of Gurugram city.

Many areas in the city — including DLF phases 1, 2 and 3, sectors 23 and 20, Udyog Vihar, Dundahera, Sushant Lok, sectors 5, 7, 10A, 21, 22, 40, 45, 46, 48, 51, 52, 56, 57 — and the area of Palam Vihar (including Jharsa, Badshahpur, Samaspur, Tigra and other villages, which fall under the MC jurisdiction) are facing shortage of water and electricity due to a record increase in power consumption.

Power demand up 15% in week

• Sources say, there was a huge increase in power demand in the ongoing heatwave. The electricity demand had increased by more than 15 per cent within a week. On May 20, when the maximum temperature was 45.3°C, the city consumed 414.4 lakh units. On May 29, the power demand increased to 480 lakh units when the maximum temperature was 47°C.

The increased power demand due to more people using air conditioners, water coolers and fans has strained electricity grids, leading to frequent outages. This has exerted additional strain on transformers, often causing them to trip due to overloading.

This has also exacerbated the problem of water shortage as electric pumps fail to operate, leaving many residents without reliable water supply. Chaitali Mandhotra, an active member of the Residents Welfare Association (RWA) of Ardee City, Sector 52 said, “The electricity feeder of our area is overloaded. Yesterday night and today the power supply was intermittent. We fear the same will happen today night, making it the third consecutive sleepless night for us.”

She claimed that the feeder worked perfectly last summer but it began giving problems when the Wazirabad area was added to it. She demanded two separate feeders for these two areas to permanently resolve the problem of power outages in the area.

KK Ahuja a resident of Housing Board Colony, Sector 7 said, “We face unscheduled power cuts at least 12 times a day, making our life miserable. The contact numbers given by the power department are always busy, while no one picks-up the toll free numbers.”

Aditya Sharma, working in Zepto, a grocery home delivery company, said he used to make at least 20 rounds of home deliveries in a day but now due to the heat he has been unable to make even half the number in a day. “Our company has started providing glucose powder to its employees but still we are unable to increase our work efficiency,” he said.

An RWA member of Sector 46 Jal Vihar Colony Ashok Kumar said, “It is very inconvenient to live without electricity these days. Even the power inverters do not last for more than an hour.”

Gurpreet Singh, Vishesh Kumar, LC Yadav and others who live as paying guests in Sector 46 said, “Last night, we took out our mattresses and went to the rooftops to sleep in the open as we were facing unscheduled power cuts and frequent voltage fluctuations.”

The residents of Sushant Lok 1 today complained they had no power supply for the last three days from 8 pm to 2 am; besides, frequent cuts during the day time.

The Managing Director of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) PC Meena said the combination of record heat and record usage had put additional stress on equipment which was leading to increased outages.

Meena said that there was no shortage. In some locations, people were facing disruptions due to local factors.

Sources say, there was a huge increase in power demand in the ongoing heatwave. The electricity demand had increased by more than 15 per cent within a week. On May 20, when the maximum temperature was 45.3°C, the city consumed 414.4 lakh units. On May 29, the power demand increased to 480 lakh units when the maximum temperature was 47°C.