No power in large parts of Chandigarh since Monday evening

PTI reported that for over 36 hours (since Monday evening), parts of Chandigarh have been facing a power blackout with no electricity and water available in many areas of the city.

Workers of the electricity department in Chandigarh being on a three-day strike is a major cause of this. According to a report in PTI, they are protesting against the “privatisation of the electricity department”, because they fear privatisation will result in increased power tariffs.

The blackout has not just caused inconvenience to residents of those particular areas, but to the whole city as traffic lights have stopped working, industrial production is affected, online classes are disrupted, and surgeries are being rescheduled in hospitals.

PTI quoted Chandigarh Health Services Director Dr. Suman Singh as saying, “We have a backup plan like we have generators. But you cannot put 100% load of a hospital on a generator. So, we had to reschedule or postpone our planned surgeries.”

Chandigarh administration last evening banned electricity department strikes for a period of six months imposing the Essential Services Maintenance Act. The administration also said that they arranged power supply, but there was no on-ground resolution of the issue.

Intervening in the matter, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has summoned the Chief Engineer of Chandigarh today and asked him to throw light on what is being done to resolve the power crisis.

An order by the court read, “This court cannot be oblivious of the fact that disruption of electricity supply is not only affecting the ordinary residents but may affect institutions like hospitals where patients may be on ventilators and other life support systems. Apart from that, there are online examinations and classes which students are taking. In many cases, virtual hearing has been disrupted in this court also because lawyers are not able to appear due to the fact that there is no electricity in their offices. In such situations, the disruption of electricity supply can cause irrevocable damage.”