With the quantum of punishment for the rape convict Baba Ram Rahim of Dera Sacha Sauda expected on Monday, residents wonder whether they will have to undergo yet another blackout.
When Dera Sacha Sauda goons ran over Panchkula on Friday, the impact of their actions was felt in Gurgaon, with many areas going without internet and power. Although the civic authorities blamed the storm and heavy rains as the reason for the outages, residents assumed the internet and power were snapped as a precautionary measure to check trouble by Dera followers here.
On the day judgment was pronounced by the CBI court judge, there was no power in Gurgaon from 2.30 pm until 8 pm. The sectors that were hit the hardest were 14, 17, 21, 22, 23, 38, 46 and parts of 50.
“Suddenly at the time of the judgment the electricity went off. We could not send WhatsApp messages. We were under the impression that DHVBN had deliberately switched the power off as a precautionary step. We even tried contacting them but no one responded,” said Neelam Bishnoi, a resident of Sector 14.
The day did see strong surface winds accompanied by rain for almost two hours, which felled trees and branches on electricity transmission wires, snapping supply. Traffic, too, was disrupted as traffic signal lights failed to work at major points in the city.
“We don’t run TV on inverters, and hence I could not watch news that day until evening. It was only around 8 pm that we finally had power. I remember distinctly, because we could not fill water tanks, as there was no power. I thought it had been done because of the violence,” said Rajiv Dewan, a resident of Sector 38.
KC Aggarwal, superintending engineer (SE), DHBVN, told City Spidey, “The power cut was due to rain and storm. We could not take calls, as our staff was busy getting faults at various places rectified. However, just like the police was keeping a watch on the law and order on roads, we were also watchful about our power centres.”
Gurgaon, like other cities in Haryana, is bracing for Monday, when the quantum of sentence on the convicted Dera Baba is to be pronounced by the CBI court. The residents are wondering if they will once again be subjected to internet and power blackouts. If the blackouts are enforced, even if there is no rain and strong surface winds, it will be clear that civic authorities were under the Dera fear factor.
