Bengalureans wanted to be heave a sigh of relief when the skies opened up on Monday night, but a majority were left fuming as power supply started playing truant. In some neighbourhoods, the blackout stretched to Tuesday morning. When their phones ran out of charge and water heaters remained non-operational even on Tuesday morning, people lost patience.
“For the last one week, the power situation has been pretty bad whenever the city receives strong wind and light rain. On Monday, the power went off at around 10.30 p.m. and was restored around 2 a.m. Last Saturday was worse; power supply stopped around 8.45 p.m. and was not restored till around 3 a.m. Since 1912 (the helpline number) is perpetually busy, we have no way of knowing what happened and when power will be restored,” said a resident of Indiranagar.
Rekha Hosmani, a resident of Hebbal Kempapura, said her morning went haywire as power supply was restored around 2.30 a.m., but got disrupted again at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. “The power supply was back around noon, but only briefly,” she said.
Over 3,000 complaints
According to the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom), from 10 p.m. on Monday to 8 a.m. on Tuesday, over 3,200 complaints were registered from across the city, and 2,320 of them had not been resolved till Tuesday morning. HSR Layout, Indiranagar and Jayanagar divisions recorded the most number of complaints. Three electricity poles were damaged, adding to the power woes.
K. Siddaraju, Director (Technical), Bescom said most problems are being reported from HSR, Domlur, Indiranagar and Koramangala. He blamed the problems on the higher tree cover near the two primary stations feeding these areas — Hoody and NGEF. “When trees get uprooted, conductors are damaged. It takes a lot of time to repair them,” he explained.
But with the recent rains only being a precursor to what the monsoon may have in store, will citizens have to put up with more power disruptions? Mr. Siddaraju said Bescom is initiating both long-term and short-term measures to combat the problem. “A 220 KV station is coming up at ITI, which will serve as an alternative to these areas. But it will take 18 months. For now, we have recruited close to 1,000 new staff for line maintenance,” he said.
In addition, the power utility is set to introduce new numbers in addition to 1912 this week to attend to the increase in volume of calls.
Complaints from 10 p.m. on Monday till 8 a.m. on Tuesday
North Circle
Division - Complaints
Peenya -154
Malleswaram - 88
Hebbal - 259
East Circle
Division - Complaints
Indiranagar - 667
Vidhana Soudha - 19
West Circle
Division - Complaints
Rajajinagar - 296
Rajarajeshwari Nagar - 143
Kengeri - 115
South Circle
Division - Complaints
Jayanagar - 455
Koramangala - 354
HSR - 720
Source: Bescom
