Despite the existing three-hour power cuts, many localities in the city are facing additional unscheduled cuts of three to four hours at a stretch. Citizens are angry at being deprived of basic amenities as a result of these unannounced cuts. In fact, a number of complaints regarding odd hours of the power cuts have been flooding the Consumer Grievances Cell. “The scheduled cuts in our area are at odd hours and to add to it, there are unscheduled cuts too. We have power cuts from 4.30 pm to 6 pm, which is the time when students and working people return home ,” said P. Sriram, a resident of Habsiguda.
With these massive power cuts, citizens are now being forced to forgo lifts, carry water manually to households, manage without essential electrical kitchen gadgets and worst of all, have to manage without water in washrooms. “In our area, there is no supply for six to seven hours in a day and at times it’s four hours at a stretch in the morning. These unannounced pow-er cuts upset the schedule of household work,” said V. Sowjanya of Neredmet.
Moreover, in case of emergencies, citizens find no response to phone calls to officials of the Central discom for hours together. While a large number of citizens find it difficult to get through to the emergency numbers, those who do, have to wait 10-20 hours before anyone attends to the complaints. “We have received many complaints against officials for not responding to calls, and in many cases, not attending to the complaints even after taking the calls,” said a member of Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum.