Bangalore: 3 hour power cuts agonizing, but 8 hours just unacceptable!

Image courtesy: kannadaprabha.com
Sunita Iyer Sunita Iyer folomojo staff

On  September 6, 2015, Dharam Dutta – a resident of Bangalore’s KR Puram area – like any other working professional, planned a lazy Sunday afternoon with his wife. A couple of movies, some chilled beer and a tub full of freshly toasted butter popcorn were set to give the couple company. But alas! Bescom (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company ) turned a party spoiler by snapping the power supply exactly at 3 pm. What’s worse is that Dharam’s misery didn’t just end in an hour or so, it was a shocking 8-hour anguish. And all he wondered was whether he had to go through this ordeal because he didn’t vote in the recently concluded BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) elections!

In what appears to be a classic case of vote in, power out, the Bescom immediately resorted to load-shedding after the municipal elections came to an end, leaving Bangaloreans to sweat buckets in the heat. The Bescom, which is facing a 900-MW power shortage, had last week declared a three-hour daily power cut from 6 am to 9 pm in three one-hour instalments.

Like Dharam, other residents of Bangalore are facing longer duration of power cuts at odd times. And to nobody’s surprise, every reaction has frustration written all over, with most people co-relating this power cut horror to the end of the BBMP elections.

According to Bescom, the power cuts are a result of a weak monsoon as well as the annual maintenance work being carried out by major central and state generators. The questions then arise – how come there weren’t any power cuts in the run-up to and during the BBMP elections? Wasn’t there a shortage of power supply then? Even if load shedding is needed, then why is the Bescom exceeding the 3-hour mark cut-off?

More than the fact that the power cuts began immediately after the BBMP elections, what’s driving people insane is the frequency of these power cuts.

For a housewife when the morning hours are essential to get going with her household chores, a power cut at that time is uncalled for. For students who are preparing for their exams, a power cut in the evening is a big dampener. For IT professionals, who work all through the night and sleep during the day, a power cut in the afternoon becomes almost unbearable. Agreed that you cannot keep everybody happy at the same time, but putting Bangaloreans through this frequent and untimely power cuts is only leading to more and more frustration.

“I have the option of working from home, but I don’t avail it because I am not sure when the power supply will go off. On weekends, it’s even worse because there is hardly any power throughout the day. What’s even more annoying is the Bescom officials mercilessly cut the power even when we are asleep! Can’t we have a proper and peaceful 8-hour sleep?,” says an angry IT professional from Hennur, who feels Bescom is being unfair with irregular load shedding.

Three one-hour power cuts is permissible. But unaccounted hours of power cuts is obviously UNACCEPTABLE! If residents in a city like Bangalore have to go through such trauma, just imagine the condition of those living in rural parts of Karnataka?

Are the Bescom officials listening? 

Image courtesy: lighthouseinsights.in
Image courtesy: lighthouseinsights.in

What about our VIP babus?

While the rest of the city goes through this torture, the VIPs and our government babus are spared from these frequent power cuts because their buildings have special installations in their grounds. Buildings like the Vidhana Soudha, Vikas Soudha, the Raj Bhavan (CM’s official residence) etc. have two transformers – when there is a power cut, there is an auto change-over to another transformer which ensures that they get uninterrupted supply of electricity.

The outcome: Common man pays a price for the electricity supply they guzzle each day.

While a handful might argue that the government work is essential and must continue at any cost, a more logical approach would be keeping an upper limit of power usage for these buildings to ensure a more efficient management of electricity distribution.

A report in The Hindu suggests that the power situation may improve slightly next week when a non-functioning unit of Udupi Power Corporation Ltd resumes operations. But, will this move bring about a significant respite for Bangaloreans? Only time can tell. For now, dimaag ki batti jalao!

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Folomojo.com