KARAIKAL: Ahead of the 2026-27 Budget, residents of Karaikal have urged the Puducherry government to allocate funds to strengthen the region’s power infrastructure and address frequent outages. Residents and businesses said they have been severely affected by power cuts over the past few months.
Karaikal People’s Action Committee’s coordinator AST Ansari Babu said several power infrastructure projects announced by Chief Minister N Rangasamy in the 2022-23 Budget had not been implemented in Karaikal. He said the Budget had proposed new 33/11 KV substations in Karaikal, increasing transformer capacity and renovating and modernising existing substations. However, he alleged that the proposals remained only as announcements until the end of the previous term, with no work or fund allocation made.
Ansari Babu said after Rangasamy returned as Chief Minister, the Department of Planning and Research announced power infrastructure projects worth Rs 646 crore for Puducherry in an official release issued by its director R Sheela in March. However, the release did not include any project for Karaikal, he said and also called it discrimination against the region.
In Karaikal, he said the Electricity Department had sought a new 25 MVA transformer for the Pillai Thiruvazhal substation for several years and demanded that the government clarify its position on the proposal.
The committee also said infrastructure and machinery at the Surakudy substation had weakened, resulting in frequent power cuts in the commune panchayats supplied by it. Thirunallar, a prominent temple town, was also affected, it said.
Claiming the government receives several crores of rupees in annual revenue from the temple administration, the committee urged the chief minister to announce a project in the 2026-27 Budget to establish a new substation on vacant land within the Surakudy substation premises.
Farmers said frequent power outages had disrupted irrigation schedules. “During this prolonged summer, power cuts have affected our day-to-day irrigation. Crops could fail if water is not supplied amid the intense heat,” said farmer DN Suresh.
Senior Electricity Department officials in Karaikal said power demand had tripled compared with last year due to the prolonged summer, and steps were being taken to establish a new substation in Surakudy to address the issue.
They also said untrimmed trees had damaged power lines during strong winds and rains, causing outages, and that the trees would be trimmed ahead of the northeast monsoon to prevent such disruptions.