Patnaites rue shortage of technical service providers

PATNA: Residents are having a tough time finding services provided by self-employed electricians, IT repairs, plumbers, motor mechanics, carpenters amid the ongoing lockdown.
With the day temperature touching nearly 40 degrees Celsius, people are worried about the maintenance and servicing of air conditioners (ACs) and dessert coolers among other electronic gadgets.Shubodeep, a chef and a resident of Kadamkuan said, “The stabiliser connected to the AC in my room is not working since April 5. I called up a few electricians but they are not ready to come. I do not know how I will manage without an air-conditioner in this intense summer,” he said.
Many residents are also facing problems as their inverters and refrigerators are out of order. Rajendra Nagar resident Kunal Mehta said, “We often face power cut problems in the locality. I urgently need to replace the battery of my inverter as it has completely dried out. Unfortunately, I there is no electrician available to repair the old one and now I need to wait till the lockdown is lifted.”
Arshad Hussain, a government schoolteacher and a resident of Gardanibagh is trying to find an electrician for getting his refrigerator repaired. “My refrigerator is not cooling and it seems the condenser fan motor is not working. Hence it is not possible to store vegetables and fruits. Service centres are closed and we are struggling to find any electrician,” he said.
Several others are struggling with poor internet connectivity while working from home. “Due to some technical snag, my internet router is not functioning properly. Now, it is difficult to find any technician. I am using my cell phone hotspot,” said Pulkit Swaroop, an IT engineer and a resident of Bhattacharya road.
Ananya Gupta, who works with an NGO said, “My laptop is not working. I called the service centre, however, nobody picked up the phone. Now, I am forced to do work on cell phone, which is very tiresome and time-taking,” she said.