HASSAN: People in Hassan district are facing problems owing to erratic power supply from the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Company (CESCO). This has affected the daily routine of the people and they are even facing the problem of drinking water. People have blamed the authorities for not giving them prior intimation on power shutdown.

Though there is no power shutdown officially, the city has regular power disruption. Most of the traders in the city are now using diesel generators to maintain regular power supply at their establishments. Nevertheless, generators have also become an attraction for thieves and more than 40 generators have been stolen in the district in the recent days, according to the district police.

It is the students who are bearing the brunt of the problem. According to sources, power goes off in the morning and supply is restored only late in the night. It has also affected water supply badly and the authorities in the City Municipal Council have blamed the electricity supply company for the problem.

They say that though they had brought this to the notice of the district administration at a Vidyut Adalat, the authorities concerned have not taken any action.

The erratic power supply has affected the rural parts of the district most. According to farmers, irrigation pumpsets have been damaged in the past few days because of the erratic power supply.

With no money to repair the burnt motors, farmers are directing their frustration against the officials of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL). Senior officials of the electricity supply company regretted that the people are not in a position to understand their problems.

Ahmadpura, a village in Arsikere taluk, has not been getting electricity in the evening for the past two-and-half years. Villagers, most of whom are Muslims, are not able to carry out their religious obligations during Ramzan. They regret that their pleas have not evoked any response from the authorities. The situation is no different in other parts of the district.

Though the Minister for Public Works and Energy, H.D. Revanna, has promised to provide 15 hours uninterrupted power supply to rural areas, villagers complains that they have not been getting electricity even for five hours a day.

Cause of the problem

The authorities in the electricity supply company admitted that they have not been able to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the people at a meet-the-press programme organised by the district unit of the Karnataka Union of Working Journalists here on Thursday. However, they said the widening of Bangalore-Mangalore Road and the changing of lines had led to the problem. They promised to set right the problem soon.

The Superintending Engineer of the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Company, A.N. Ramesh, said the company took up work on changing lines from seven months ago and this has caused the problem. Now they have no way other than disconnecting the lines to facilitate demolition of multi-storeyed buildings on Bangalore-Mangalore Road, he added. However, he said the company would try to solve the problem soon.

The company has also taken up work to lay underground cable from Tannerhalla to the railway station to provide uninterrupted power supply to the city. It is spending Rs. 4 crores on this, he said. But this will be taken up after the road widening work, he added.

Attributing power interruption to shortage of staff, he said the company is facing shortage of 2,500 technical persons and that a process is on to recruit 750 people in the first phase. He admitted that the company lacks skilled personnel.

He said the company has decided to set up 26 master unit sub-stations at a cost of Rs. 4 crores each.

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