Power scenario remains grim in Kanpur
Residents use torch, candlelight to complete chores after sunset; complaints pour in at KESCo control room, and sub-stations often face gherao threats
In Jalaun on Wednesday night the attendants brought their patients out of the district hospital in the open and the entire hospital was emptied in a matter of 30 minutes.
The reason was the blistering heat and no electricity supply after the sole generator stopped working around 8 pm.
The patients, the people said, remained outside the hospital till Thursday morning, and were moved in when the electricity supply resumed after nearly 24 hours. By then many less serious patients were taken away to their respective houses.
“It was unbearable inside; it felt like we were like in an oven. The fans were not working and there was no proper ventilation as well. I think my patient would have died had we not taken him out,” said Raj Kumar Soni, a jeweller from Jalaun.
This similar scenario is at play in all the districts of Kanpur region where people are braving serious power crisis day in, day out for about a month.
In a city like Kanpur, the shutdowns and tripping have reminded the residents about the grim power scenario between 2007 and 2012 when the city used to get electricity for six hours.
In Kanpur alone, the demand has touched 685 megawatts, and the higher load has led to 17 transformers going kaput and 22 feeders freezing at the sub stations.
Such is the situation that the Kanpur Electricity Supply Company (KESCo) has deployed a record 236 gangs—each gang has five people—to attend the faults.
KESCo control room with 26 lines is getting on average 749 complaint calls in an hour, and 127 faults being reported. The number of lines has been increased to 26 from 18 to manage high influx of complaint calls, said managing director Samuel P who on Thursday claimed the situation was getting back to normal.
His claim asunder, the KESCo insiders said the load on 7,000 transformers supplying through 453 feeders was extraordinarily high.
As for the residents, they are reeling under the grim power situation.
Surendra Pandey bought an additional battery for inverter but that was not enough in his Darshanpurwa house. His daughters Gungun and Rashi study in candlelight. His wife Dolly is worried about the current power crisis, which she finds unprecedented. “Our daily life has been affected. My daughters are students of Fatima Convent in class four and class three, and they cannot study. I cannot cook food in time,” she said.
In other part of city, Amit Gupta lives in Shiv Katra Chakeri and works in a jewellery shop. “My family for the last eight days, is sleeping on the terrace because there is no electricity supply in the night for hours. The mosquitoes make it difficult for us to sleep through the night. My kids have furuncles on their body due to mosquito bites,” he rues.
Smita Shukla who lives in Birhana Road locality where the electricity goes in the evening and comes late in the night, shares similar woes. “The tutor comes in the evening and we use torch, lamps and candles to help our three daughters study,” she said.
Shruti Dixit who lives in nearby Ram Narayan Bazar said it is always uncertain as to when the power outage could occur. “I dread making meals in the kitchen without electricity; it is torturous,” she said, adding “our routine has gone haywire, and it has affected my behaviour as well as I have become terse in my conversation.”
The crisis that is going unmitigated has triggered law and order issues. Police said there has been a substantial rise in protests and gherao of power sub stations during the past fortnight.
“We are keeping a close vigil on the situation,” said commissioner of police, BP Jogdand. The policemen have been asked to deal with the protestors with great restraint, he said.
President of Uttar Pradesh Prantiya Vyapar Mandal Abhimanyu Gupta who led one major protest in Barra-8 said the cost of electricity in Kanpur is the highest in state. And this kind of power crisis was burdening the traders who are using generators heavily, which adds to their cost.
