VELLORE: The Pernambut Consumer Welfare Protection Society has suggested that Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) explore the possibility of uninterrupted power supply during routine maintenance work by providing power from the nearest alternate sub-station to the locality temporarily cut off from power due to routine maintenance.
Society president T Basheeruddin made the suggestion during the quarterly meeting of the District Consumer Forum on Monday, chaired by the district collector.
He said that the Corporation, while undertaking monthly maintenance work in a particular area, resorts to shutting down the power supply in all the sub-stations in the locality, leaving customers without power for almost an entire day.
This could be avoided if they planned to schedule shutdown of select sub-stations in a particular locality for maintenance work while keeping nearby sub-stations where there is no shutdown as standby to provide uninterrupted power to the consumers. In that way, all sub-stations can be maintained in a cyclical order.
It would also be a win-win situation for both the TANGEDCO as well as its consumers, he said.
He also made an appeal to the department of posts to establish a sub-post office within the town where government offices and municipality function.
Currently, the post office functions away from the town, which forces locals to travel long distances to avail its facilities.
Basheeruddin said that the department of posts should instruct all post offices to accept all postal transactions as per the stipulated timing.
He said that post boxes must be fixed at all local branches of State Bank of India premises, bus stands and other easily accessible places, where people could make use of the postal facilities.
The society has also appealed to the district administration to take steps to bifurcate the Gudiyattam taluk to establish a new taluk at Pernambut.
The premises of the old government hospital building could be used to house the new taluk office temporarily until a new office building was constructed, he suggested.
The post of the revenue officer for the Pernambut town that has been vacant should be filled, he said.
The municipal commissioner must be designated to function as the assistant electoral officer as has been in practice in other municipalities, he added.
He also appealed to the district administration to instruct nationalised banks functioning in the Pernambut town not to harass locals, especially students desirous of opening savings accounts. Banks should also be advised to conduct periodical customer meetings, he added.