Chandigarh Electricity Department's strike has led to massive power outages in the city. The employees of the electricity department have been protesting against the privatisation of electricity in Chandigarh for a very long time but their requests have gone unheard, leading them to announce a 72-hour strike.
However, in this battle between the government and the electricity department, residents of Chandigarh are paying the price.
I live in Sector 15-C, Chandigarh and my home was without power for almost 24 hours. The electricity was finally restored in my sector around 3:30 am in the morning on 23 February. For more than 22 hours, we were without electricity.
Since the night of 22 February, most of the city was experiencing prolonged power cuts. There was no one to repair or fix the power cut.
No electricity for the last 24 hours.
(Image courtesy: Gurpreet kaur Bhatti)
Pitch dark outdoors.
(Image courtesy: Gurpreet kaur Bhatti)
Most homes have backup inverters that don’t last more than 12 hours. And so by Tuesday evening, most homes were in a complete black out. People were struggling to charge their phones, get any work done, and at-home medical patients were struggling without their monitoring devices.
My home without electricity.
(Image courtesy: Gurpreet kaur Bhatti)
A picture from my balcony.
(Image courtesy: Gurpreet kaur Bhatti)
Hospitals, Offices and Educational Institutions Affected
Not only that, most places were unable to function properly which includes hospitals, offices, educational institutions, shops etc. People had been barely able to see inside their own homes after the sun went down.
Since it is winter season, it was really tough because the geysers stopped working and heaters were left of no use. Moreover, since the WiFi had been disconnected, my research (internship) was affected and I wasn't able to meet my deadlines.
The helpline numbers provided by the administration were either unreachable or constantly busy. There was no one to help in case of an emergency.
It was very difficult to deal with, to say the very least. Can’t even begin to imagine the state of homes where senior citizens live all alone. This situation is entirely chaotic and hazardous.
(The author is a law student living in Chandigarh. All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)
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