NEW DELHI, Feb 24 (NNN-PTI) – A major power blackout for over 36 hours, in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, has hit water supply, hospitals and traffic lights, officials said yesterday.
The blackout, in India’s most well-planned city, was caused by a three-day strike, called by electricity department workers, who protested against privatisation.
The outage left thousands of homes without power since Monday evening, and traffic lights are not working in many areas.
In the wake of the non-availability of electricity, government hospitals have been forced to reschedule or postpone planned surgeries.
Reports said, the power cut has also shut down online classes and coaching institutes in the city, thereby affecting thousands of students. The power cuts have also hit industrial production and manufacturing, at some units in the city.
The protesting employees fear privatisation of their department will change their work terms and also increase power tariffs.
The city’s administration held a meeting with the employees, in a bid to persuade them to call off the strike. However, no consensus could be reached out.
Meanwhile, the administration has, in court, accused striking workers of “acts of sabotage.”
On Tuesday evening, the administration enforced the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), banning strikes by the electricity department for six months.
Reports said, authorities called in a military engineer services team, to restore power supply in the city.
Though officials claimed they had made arrangements to maintain power supply, the city residents and traders in many areas of the city complained of outages.
Amid the blackout, the mobile operators association issued a statement to local media, acknowledging the outage had disrupted mobile network connectivity in parts of the city.
Telecom companies are seeking alternate sources, to power their sites and exchanges.
“Due to the ongoing electricity crisis in Chandigarh, telecom services are badly impacted in all the areas and nearby states. Telecom towers in Chandigarh are fully dependent on the electric grid supply,” the Digital Infrastructure Providers Association said.– NNN-PTI
