The Government had declared Noida a no power cut zone, meaning that there will not be any power cuts due to scheduled load shedding. But this has not made matters any better. Power is still a scarce commodity in the city and for the past few months the residents of Sector 61 are facing the brunt of it. The electricity department says that there is no load shedding but they have an endless list of varied reasons for these power cuts that are random and unscheduled. During the last month residents had to face around three to four intermittent power cuts on any given day. Earlier power cuts were often seen in summers owing to the high electricity demand but this time around even winters are not free from power cuts.
Along with power cuts comes another problem of voltage fluctuations, which the electricity department has never been able to solve and like every year residents’ appliances face severe damage. The residents also allege that the department does not take their complaints seriously. Whenever the residents call to enquire about the power cut they are given a standard answer that “some fault has occurred, power will be restored soon”. But the power does not come in the stipulated time frame. The recent rains that hit the sector have added to this already boiling issue. The sector saw short circuits and snapped power lines at many places due to broken tree branches falling on them. The residents say that during the last six months the electricity department carried out scheduled power cuts daily in the name of tree pruning and wire maintenance. If that was actually the case how is it possible for tree branches to keep falling on the cables? The residents are irked about the whole situation and have even tried to reach out to the higher authorities to find a solution to their grievances as the officers in charge seem to turn a blind eye to the whole problem. Residents also say that while the department may be slow to resolve complaints, it seems to be very fast in disconnecting connections for a few days delay in payment of bills. Also many residents have complained about irregular billing cycles and issues with meter readers and bill generation. Some residents had complained about electricity department employees turning up at their residence to change their electric meters without any prior notice or information.
What is ironic is that while we pay one of the highest rates of electricity in the country, the quality of services we receive is lamentable. The residents say that the whole department right from the staff to the equipment needs an overhaul to bring things back on track.
