Confusion mars blackout exercise in Gurugram, Faridabad; most parts stay lit

Lack of clarity and information made the mock blackout in Gurugram and Faridabad a sheer failure.

The local authorities failed to sort things at their level as all street lights and park lights were fully functional. A majority of these utilise solar energy so they lit themselves. Not only this, restaurant, malls, clubs, other public places and houses failed to abide by the blackout instructions. While some blamed poor volume of sirens for the same, others said they were not properly familiarised with the instructions.

“We just heard the word ‘mock drill’ as information related to it was being forwarded on WhatsApp, but we had no idea as to what exactly we were supposed to do. If we are in a situation of war, shouldn’t we be better informed? I am a 70-year-old man; not too much into social media. I had no clue about the blackout and thought there was a power cut. The authorities need to take it seriously and keep us better prepared,” said RS Dahiya, a resident of Sector 17 in Gurugram.

Panipat encounters similar situation

Not just the twin NCR cities, even in Panipat, the blackout failed as all markets were opened and the vehicular movement was also observed on the NH-44 and local roads.

However, at 7.54 pm street lights were switched off and in some areas, people also switched off their lights, but it failed in the city. Even the power supply data by the power corporation was sufficient to prove the failure of the blackout in the city.

As per the data, the corporation recorded reduction in power load from 570 mega watt (MW) to 494 M.

Didn’t hear siren, alarm: Rohtak residents

The blackout alarm sounded by the local administration on Wednesday evening evoked a mixed response in Rohtak.

n The district administration claimed that the city plunged into darkness as soon as the siren went off at 7.50 pm. However, the lights at many houses, shops, offices and other commercial establishments remained on between 7.50 am and 8 pm. A majority of residents said they did not hear any siren or alarm for the blackout.