Low voltage cripples life in city

ALLAHABAD: Earlier it was erratic power supply which had made life miserable for denizens owing to intense heatwave conditions prevailing in the state. But now, coupled with this, is the problem of low voltage which has almost made electrical gadgets non functional.
Such is the condition that bulbs glow up like candles while tubelights do not function on account of low voltage, said a resident of Ahiyapur, Rajesh Pathak whose locality is among the worst hit."Fans moving at snail's pace and bulbs lighting as candles have made it difficult to survive under this torrid heat. Such is the speed of fans that one can count the number of rounds per minute," he added.
He said voltage fluctuations in the evening are affecting costly appliances like refrigerators, juicers, mixers, TVs, etc. For children who wish to enjoy the summer vacations, a peaceful night's sleep is all they long for, he said.
In fact, areas which got better power supply last year, are reeling under power crisis this year on account of unscheduled power cuts and low voltage. Electricity plays hide-and-seek almost the entire day. It is only near the midnight, when lights are switched off, that the situation improves. Harish Supyal, a resident of Mumfordganj, rued: "Hamare ilaake mein to batti jaise aankh michauli khelti hai. Sirf raat ko thoda halat sudharti hai jiske chalte hamein sone ka mauka mil jaata hai" (in our locality power plays truant on and often and it is only during the night that we get some relief).
He, however, said it has become a routine that power supply would be snapped for over an hour in the morning besides the daily three hours of scheduled rostering.
However, besides the routine rostering it is unscheduled power cuts which leave the denizens angry. The worst affected are the localities in Old City where the power department is not able to provide more than 13 to 14 hours of supply. Moreover, local faults have become the order of the day in these areas.
Talking to TOI, a senior official of the power department, RK Sharma said: "Low voltage is a common problem in every locality. Reason being that city is not getting adequate supply from the grid itself this year. In areas where the department has installed aerial bunch conductors (ABC) the problem is not so acute but elsewhere the problem is definitely serious."