Power cut goes up to six hours

 Loadshedding has forced students to study under candlelights for the annual examination in Mysore. Photo: M.A Sriram

With public examinations round the corner, parents express concern

Residents in Madurai and southern districts are now facing power cuts for nearly six hours, nearly three times the scheduled duration of two hours. Compounding people's anger is the erratic nature of power supply and power cuts especially at night hours.

K. M. Sundar, secretary of Ajantha Gardens Residents' Association at Valluvar Colony, told The Hindu on Monday that with public examinations fast approaching, children's studies would be seriously affected if this situation were to continue.

Emergency lamp did not serve the purpose as children found it difficult to study under it.

Parents were also having trouble preparing their kids to school and getting ready to office in the morning due to power cuts between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., he added.

T. D. Shanthakumari, a working woman residing at Shanthi Nagar area, said that they were facing power cuts in excess of six hours every day.

“With chain snatching incidents increasing, power cuts after 6 p.m. are causing a lot of safety issues as street lights do not function.”

Stating that on several occasions their area faced sudden power cuts between 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. or from 10 p.m. to 10.30 p.m., she said that senior citizens have trouble in taking rest.

“Invertors cannot be afforded by every one as they are expensive. Also, the response from local TAGNEDCO office to our requests to halt power cuts in nights is not satisfactory,” she added.

P. Pusari, a professional residing at Dr. Kabir Nagar, said that the TANGEDCO was not following the schedule it had announced. “Children are having a lot of trouble sleeping and their studies have been hit hard. This was not the case earlier and the authorities should consider stopping power cuts after dark.”

When contacted, a top official from TANGEDCO, Madurai, said that this was a situation prevailing across the State and not confined only to southern districts. The TANGEDCO Madurai Region comprises Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts.

Further, the official said, the quantum of power cuts was decided only by the Load Despatch Centre at Chennai, which factored in the power generation and demand across the State.