Power Crisis in Gurgaon; Rampant Commercialization In Residential Area Causes Long Power Cuts
By Sanjay Sharma, Section Electricity
Posted on Sat May 28, 2005 at 08:25:48 PM EST
Increasing commercialisation of areas and ill-maintained transformers have landed Gurgaon in serious power trouble.
Sample this: DLF alone has about 300 commercial establishments in residential areas. Out of these, nearly 60 are guest houses, which at times use as many as 10 ACs.
- The transformers, installed way back in 1988, are unable to take this kind of load and collapse.
- The result: Burnt transformers and cables and power cuts that sometimes stretch to 15 hours.
A DLF spokesperson admitted that following a 15-hour power cut in Phase-II last week, they had disconnected the power supply to commercial establishments. However, permanent measures were not possible. "We have spoken to the deputy commissioner about it. The authorities have promised us quick action," she said.
"We have written to HUDA to take up the issue. Such premises should be sealed," said DLF City RWA president Saurabh Chawla. Rampant usage of online boosters by residents worsen the crisis. "We face power cuts for about five hours daily. Residents who use online boosters have forced authorities to cut power twice a day when the water pressure builds up," said Archana Agarwal, a Phase-III resident.
The lack of a single-window system to address such problems has also added to the residents' misery. "HUDA officials are unable to do anything in the developers' areas. The developers, on their part, do not have the power to take any permanent steps," said Chawla.
