22 Gurugram villages go ‘powerless’ for 40 hours

Gurugram, January 12

In what casts shadow on tall claims of world-class power infrastructure in the state, 22 villages of the millennium city had to grapple with 40-hour electricity failure before it was partially restored. The snag, which literally crippled life in these villages, was reportedly due to a fault in the power line of the Sohna 33 kV power substation in Gurugram.

Twenty-two villages from Sohna are supplied power through Silani and Indri feeders. After the power line developed a fault on January 9, electricity supply to 22 villages adjacent to Indri and Silani feeders was completely cut off.

The department could not trace the fault for 36 hours even as homes of hundreds of families plunged into darkness. It was after almost three days that the supply could be partially restored. Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd (DHBVN) has transferred the XEN concerned and an inquiry has been initiated into the matter. Villagers alleged that the power infrastructure was faulty and had demanded its complete replacement. Sohna feeder is the biggest and supplies electricity to majority of the area.

“Maximum population in our villages comprises farmers. There was no power for three days. It means no irrigation in fields during this period. Such power failures are not new in the region. Officials say electricity supply lines are of substandard quality. We cannot bear such inconvenience anymore and demand total revamp of the power infrastructure,” said Neeraj, a farmer from one of the villages in Gurugram.

“Such power failures are not new in the region. We have lodged several complaints in this regard. Without power, there in no hot water, no mobile charging and no irrigation for crops. Earlier, the power failure was for a few hours or just a day. Now, the infrastructure has totally collapsed. We demand immediate solution for the issue,” said Surender Yadav, another farmer.

PC Meena, who was appointed MD, DHBVN, recently, said, “The power is being restored in villages. If it’s a recurring issue, we will investigate the cause and fix it. The residents have highlighted their concerns and we are looking into it.”