Prolonged power cuts give sleepless nights to Sirsa residents

As temperatures in Sirsa cross 44°C, residents are not only inconvenienced from the extreme heat but also from repeated and prolonged power cuts. The situation turned worse on Sunday night when most of the city was left without electricity for hours, forcing people to stay awake in the heat. They tried to contact officials from the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) — but all in vain.

Localities, including Preet Nagar, Agrasen Colony, Prem Nagar, Parmarth Nagar, Bharat Nagar, and Nandan Vatika remained without power the entire night. Despite complaints, no action was taken. Superintending Engineer (SE) Rajendra Sabharwal posted updates on official WhatsApp groups, claiming that the situation would be fixed soon, but ground realities remained unchanged.

Ironically, while people suffered in the darkness at night, streetlights and decorative lights along Hisar Road, from Maharana Pratap Chowk to Delhi Pul, were seen glowing throughout Monday morning. The residents criticised poor planning, as power was available when it was not needed and there was a blackout during the peak hours.

Even repeated calls to the DHBVN offices went on deaf ears. Some residents also complained at the Deputy Commissioner’s office, but no concrete solution was offered. MLA Gokul Setia went live on social media on Sunday night and instructed officials to address the issue. He admitted that power cuts in the heat was making life miserable for the citizens and demanded immediate improvement in service.

Locals like Mukesh Kumar pointed out the discrimination in power distribution, stating that areas such as HUDA colonies, where officers and ministers lived, rarely suffered outages. In contrast, areas such as Begu Road and Preet Nagar faced long and repeated cuts, sometimes lasting two to three days. Due to the power cuts, water supply was also disrupted as most homes received water only once a day.

Another resident, Devilal Saharan, complained that the officials, including Junior Engineers (JEs) and SDOs, didn’t respond to calls, and only SE Sabharwal occasionally replied to messages.

In response to these complaints, SE Sabharwal stated that more staff would be deployed at power complaint centres. However, the citizens were skeptical, pointing to a letter dated May 15, 2025, in which the Superintending Engineer requested urgent recruitment of 405 staff members due to severe shortages.

The letter detailed that Sirsa city alone needed 187 new employees. Staff shortages, combined with the summer peak load, were affecting power supply continuity. The current workforce was already overburdened, raising serious concerns about the DHBVN’s ability to manage the situation.

Rania reels under darkness

Rania town is facing severe power cuts amid extreme heat, with electricity supply being shut off daily from 8 am and long outages blamed on “maintenance.” While locals suffer, the Tehsil office continues to burn floodlights during the day, mocking the government’s power-saving campaign. The outages have affected daily life and halted small businesses, especially in the Gaushala area, supplied by the Himmatpura feeder. The area houses electric-run units and shelters thousands of cows. The residents complain of unannounced cuts and officials giving the same repeated response: “Maintenance is ongoing, supply will resume soon.”

Power court to resolve consumer complaints

The DHBVN will hold a power court on Tuesday from 11 am to 1 pm at the Sub-Urban Subdivision Office, Sirsa (Barnala Road). The consumers can report issues such as wrong billing, voltage fluctuations, frequent outages, or meter replacement delays. Complaints will be heard and resolved on the spot.