Power cuts add to summer heat

CHANDIGARH: Frequent power cuts in this hot and sultry summer have made life miserable for people living in Chandigarh. Adding to the woes, this year, the summer is also showing its harsh side by breaking the record of last two years.
On Saturday, residents living in Sector 35 were left unattended with a long power cut which lasted up to five hours at a stretch.Besides this, many Southern sectors too suffered due to unplanned power cuts. People rued that when they tried to contact the electricity department, their calls were not answered.
There was no electricity supply in Zirakpur from 10.30am to 5.30pm. "The entire Sunday was spoiled by the day-long cut. Though supply has been better this season in Zirakpur, but this was the worst ever cut of the season," said Kamal, a resident of the area.
Santosh Kumar, a resident of Sector 35, said, "My five-year-old daughter was unable to sleep the whole night because of the long power cut. Plus, to add to the misery, I don't have an inverter."
"Many of my appliances have been damaged thanks to the frequent power cuts and voltage fluctuation. It's not feasible to keep repairing or buying new appliances all the time," said Arvind Bora, a resident of Sector 27.
J N Sharma, president of New Light House Building Society (Sector 51) said, "We don't mind short scheduled power cuts but targeting a few sectors and leaving others is not fair. I feel Southern sectors suffer more in comparison to the Northern sectors. And VIP sectors are completely privileged as they're rarely subjected to this torture."
Sharma suggests that intelligent distribution of power is the key to deal with this power crisis. He adds, "Street lights of Colony No. 5 are switched on early at 5.30pm. Now this is sheer wastage as the sun sets around 7.30pm and the requirement for the same is only around that time."
Making their own arrangements to deal with the crisis, more and more societies have installed transformers. J P Arya, resident of New Light House Building Society in Sector 51, said, "We have our own transformers in the society and thanks to that there is no voltage fluctuation and the consumption is low which results in more capacity."