While DHBVN officials say power theft is mainly responsible for the crisis, residents are not assured. Can they hope for some respite in the near future?
Residents of DLF Phase I, II and III have reached the end of their tether — they are experiencing three to four hours of power outage every day, and a solution seems uncertain at the moment.
Power cuts have become a regular affair over the last three months, allege residents. And, adding to their woes, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam or DHBVN hasn’t responded to their repeated complaints.
DHBVN officials cited “technical issues” for the power cuts. They also said, adding much to the confusion, that power supply has remained "uninterrupted”.
However, a senior official with the DHBVN said, on condition of anonymity, that the power crisis in the area was “artificial” — a result of power theft.
“We have just finished calculating cases of power thefts in the city for July. Over 264 cases were registered, and Rs 2.33 crore was imposed as fine on violators . A large share of the violations was detected from DLF Phase I, II and III,” explained an executive engineer.
Things will improve drastically after the power thefts are curbed, he added.
But residents feel hopeless — and confused.
“We can’t even carry out our basic household chores because of this erratic supply,” complained Mahi Agarwal, a resident of DLF Phase I.
“DHBVN officials have given us different stories each time — tripping power lines, technical errors in transformers, overheating and what not! They are yet to act on any of those issues,” grumbled Priti Singh, a resident of DLF Phase II.
Last month, the DHBVN had announced the city would receive uninterrupted power supply from August 15. Later, state government officials retracted the statement and said rural areas in the district were to be the beneficiaries.
DHBVN chief engineer Sanjeev Chopra did not wish to comment.
