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Ghaziabad residents facing massive power cuts

Staff Reporter

Situation worsened due to mushrooming of residential colonies in areas like Kaushambi, Vaishali, Vasundhara and Indirapuram

NEW DELHI: It is not just Delhiites who are facing a severe power crisis these days, the plight of residents of the neighbouring township of Ghaziabad is no better with 10-15 hours of power cut each day. Even as the situation improved in the Capital on Sunday due to offices and business establishments being closed, there was no such relief for the people in Ghaziabad. In fact, the residents have now started coming out on the streets to protest and have also resorted to blocking roads and gheraoing local power department officials.

Ghaziabad has been facing power shortage for many years now, but in the past couple of years the situation has deteriorated due to mushrooming of residential colonies and apartments in areas like Kaushambi, Vaishali, Vasundhara and Indirapuram adjoining Delhi. Thousands of flats have come up in these areas but the power supply situation remains the same, leading to massive shortage.

The present power crunch is related to the overall grim scenario in Uttar Pradesh where there is a huge gap between demand and supply. "In U.P., the present demand is around 7,000-8,000 MW, while the supply is around 4,000-5,000 MW depending on generation as many units of thermal plants in the State are on repair leading to shortage in the Northern Grid," said a power official in Ghaziabad.

However, the power crisis in Ghaziabad has been aggravated due to uncontrolled construction activities going on in the city. Interestingly, the Power Department has refused to grant new connections to upcoming projects as the local supply network is unable to take any more load.

Against the demand of around 600 MW in Ghaziabad alone, the supply is only around 300-400 MW, leading to long and unscheduled power cuts.

Stating that on Saturday there was no electricity for the entire day, Bimal Mishra, a resident of Shipra Sun City at Indirapuram, said: "On an average, we are facing 10-15 hours of power cuts for more than a fortnight now. Even our inverter for backup is unable to meet our daily demand. Due to unscheduled power cuts during the night, children cannot sleep. What is the point of developing so-called modern townships when the State Government cannot ensure uninterrupted power supply?"

Stating that long power cuts was also affecting supply of water in the area, Ms. Mishra pointed to the massive use of power generators by builders and colonisers in the entire Indirapuram area for power backup that in turn is polluting the environment.

"In many colonies, huge generators are being used for backup. These generators emit smoke for 10-15 hours everyday, causing massive damage to environment," she added.

Blaming the State Government for not arranging for additional power from surplus States to meet the demand for more power, Residents Welfare Association of All Five Housing Societies (Kaushambi) spokesperson Mohan Singh urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to urgently look into the matter. "The State Capital Lucknow is getting regular power supply. Similarly, we want that Ghaziabad, from where the Power Department gets maximum revenue, should also get 24-hour electricity supply," he demanded.

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