BENGALURU: Bengalureans are at the receiving end of frequent and long hours of power cut. Though the government announced three hour of load-shedding, many areas have been going without power for many hours.
Aruna, who works with a private firm, said there was a power cut just when she was about to get money from an ATM. Even the UPS was not working. “I did not get the money, but the amount was deducted from my account. Fortunately, the money was credited back by evening.”
Radha, who works in the HR department in a private firm on Cunningham Road, said there were frequent power cuts in her office. Though there is UPS, the office uses it only for the computers. “Our office is on the fifth floor. Thanks to the power cuts, we are unable to use the lift. We are forced to take the stairs,” she said.
However, BBMP head office does not seem to be having much trouble.
Sheshadri, IT Adviser at Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, said, “We have UPS which has three hours of back-up. If this goes off, we have a diesel generator. We tell our staff to switch off unnecessary lights and fans that consume more electricity.”
However, problems are different at the ward offices. One of the staff members from a ward office said at some places, they either have no UPS or the UPS do not last long enough. “At our ward office, the UPS is not functional. We are directing the public to pay their tax at BengaluruOne centres as we do not have power,” he said.
Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) helpline 1912 was busy since Friday morning and many people were unable to reach the number. BBMP control rooms were flooded with calls from the public too.
“People are calling us even though we are not directly concerned. We are directing them to contact BESCOM,” a staffer said.
The power cuts are even affecting people going to the police station to lodge complaints. A senior police official at High Grounds said there was no power for more than two hours in the morning. This was a hurdle for people who wanted to file complaints online, he said.
SJ Park police station suffered even more. “We need lights during the day as the place does not have sufficient light. We have no other option but to use candle lights to carry on with work,” a police personnel said.
Banaswadi police station staffers are also facing a similar situation. “Ours is one of the busiest police stations. More people visit here and without power and fan it is suffocating to sit and work inside,” a staff member said.
Parvathi Menon, a techie, blamed the government for the power cuts. She said that there was no such problem till the BBMP elections, and now that the poll results are declared, power cuts have become regular.
CREDAI Secretary Suresh Hari also blamed the government for poor planning. He, however, said their business was not affected much as they use a power grid. He pointed out that using more generators will ultimately affect the environment with carbon emission. Also, cost of using generators will be put on the costumers in any business.