For the past two months, residents of Gandhipuram, near Sreekaryam, have faced frequent disruptions in power supply. The power cuts last from two to five hours.
“There is no predictable pattern in the power outage. Power cuts in the night have become routine. Going to work after a night of restless sleep is difficult,” said Arun Kesav, a resident of Gandhipuram.
According to general secretary of Gandhipuram Residents Association, Joy, even inverters installed in houses prove futile as batteries go down after hours of power cuts. “Daily we face outage for at least two hours. There were days when power disruption lasted seven hours. We have been making repeated pleas to the department officials but to no avail,” he said.
Power disruption poses a security risk too. The area houses a large number of women working in Technopark. “The women have to walk under the cover of darkness and they don’t feel secure,” said Mr. Joy.
An employee at Kerala State Electricity Board office at Sreekaryam said the disruption was mostly due to lack of maintenance, including pruning of tree branches. “We are in the process of laying underground cables. Once that work is through, the area will be free from power outages,” the official said.
