The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Palani residents protest frequent power cuts

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Thursday, Oct 02, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Palani residents protest frequent power cuts

Staff Reporter

“Supply is erratic and shutdown continues for seven hours”

PALANI: A large number of Muslims picketed the Palani-Dindigul highway near the central bus stand here on Wednesday, condemning frequent power cuts. Traffic was disrupted for an hour.

They alleged that despite appeals not to cut power during their prayer time, power supply was snapped . Even as the scheduled power shutdown was between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. it was not resumed till 2 p.m., they said.

Such widespread disgust over power crisis was restricted to Palani town but prevalent in the entire district for the past three days. The situation turned from bad to worse in both rural and urban areas as the TNEB snapped supply frequently. Even as the scheduled power shutdown was only for five hours, power supply was erratic and power crisis continued for seven hours at several places. The condition was worst in villages.

They got power neither in daytime nor at night hours properly.

Many villages plunged into darkness for several hours continuously at night.

Worst affected are students in tenth and plus two classes, particularly rural areas.

“Sometimes, power supply was not resumed even two hours after the scheduled three-hour power shutdown. We could not plan our work,” said local people.

Earlier, the TNEB engineers had announced that power shutdown would be between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. and 11 a.m. and noon in Dindigul every day.

But they did not follow these schedules. They cut power supply from half an hour to one hour before and after the scheduled time.

On an average, actual period of power shutdown has been extended to six to seven hours in the town and eight to nine hours in rural areas without any announcement.

Already, industrial and business activities have been completely paralysed.

While big industries that have diesel generators have managed run the mill at least for one shift, small and tiny industries have been reeling under acute power crisis.

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