Noida: Allowing limited operation of diesel generator sets for essential services only has started causing a lot of difficulty for residents in Delhi-NCR. They complained that the enforcement of graded response action plan by the Supreme Court appointed environmental pollution control committee for controlling pollution in the air is now leading towards several problems.
Residents said that it may or may not bring any change as far as controlling the pollution in the air is concerned. But it is certainly causing problems for them.
Pramod Taragi, an IT professional, who is working from home on assignment these days, said that as the current state of power supply is very disruptive in Noida and back up supply is banned, he is facing trouble during the power outage. He said, “We went to the market to purchase candles to manage the scarcity during the power outage. But it is also not available in the market, forcing him to search for candles at more shops. One can imagine the difficulties during the power outage.”
Residents complained that they were facing financial trouble during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, the enforcement of graded response action plan has come as another burden for them.
One of them said, “To manage power back up shortfall due to banning of diesel generator sets, we have to arrange an inverter and battery to meet the demand. It is going to be an extra expense on many heads during the slow economy and limited income.”
Sandeep Singh, Secretary of Prateek Laurel, a residential society in Sector 120 said, “Arrangement of power back up is essential for maximum residents and their kids as they are working from home with the help of electronic devices that cannot be run without power supply. Children are also taking online classes with the help of information technology. It requires power for running and recharging them. Lack of power back up is adversely impacting children’s education.”
Considering above issues arising after enforcement of graded response action plan, the federation of Noida and Greater Noida Apartment Owner Association wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding relief for residents.
The federation argued that the imposition of the plan would prove counterproductive as it is causing tremendous difficulty for residents in highrises. It also drew attention towards air pollution levels, which were good a few months ago because of the lockdown.
It urged that residential societies should be allowed to operate the generator sets to meet the power back up demand as there are asymptomatic Covid-19 patients, who are advised to go for self-quarantine at home.
Sandeep Singh Chauhan, president of the federation said that considering the need of power back in highrises, the authority should allow us to operate the generator sets as there are several measures that may effectively be implemented to control air pollution. It can be controlled if more and more vehicles go off road.
