Rising humidity and temperatures have worsened the problem of unscheduled power cuts in Sonepat, causing inconvenience to residents.
Following complaints from residents, MLA Nikhil Madaan visited several colonies late on Saturday night to pacify people who had taken to the streets to protest against the disrupted power supply.
The Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) also swung into action on Sunday, with officials visiting several localities to assess the ground situation. UHBVN Superintending Engineer (SE) Maninder Kadyan suspended assistant lineman Sahil, who was posted at the Rathdhana complaint centre, for remaining absent from duty for the past two days without informing senior officials.
According to available information, residents of Liwan village reached the Barota power house to protest against the power cuts. Agitated over the prolonged outages, they locked the power house. After receiving information about the protest, UHBVN officials reached the spot and pacified the villagers, following which the locks were opened within half an hour.
Meanwhile, MLA Nikhil Madaan visited several localities, personally inspected the ground situation and ensured the restoration of power supply. He also pacified residents who had blocked a road in protest against the unscheduled power cuts and got the blockade cleared.
Residents of Braham Nagar also blocked traffic on Old Rohtak Road during the night. The MLA reached the spot and pacified the protesters.
He also called UHBVN XEN (City) Ranbir Deswal and other officials to the site while visiting Braham Nagar on Old Rohtak Road and listened to the residents’ grievances. The MLA directed the officials to resolve the issues at the earliest.
He instructed UHBVN officials to install a 200 KVA transformer and prioritise tightening electric cables hanging close to the ground.
Later, he held a meeting with SE Maninder Kadyan and XEN Ranbir Deswal and identified eight to ten locations in the city where the problem of recurring power cuts persists. He directed the officials to install transformers at these locations to ensure an uninterrupted power supply.
The MLA said the transformers would be installed by next week. The identified areas include Malviya Nagar, Braham Nagar, Dahiya Colony, Mayur Vihar, Arya Nagar and the Gur Mandi area, where complaints of power cuts are frequently reported.
Later, he also visited Rathdhana Road, where residents of Narender Nagar and Roop Nagar had staged a protest against the overflowing sewerage system.
MLA Madaan pacified the protesters and assured them that their grievances would be addressed on priority.
He directed Municipal Corporation (MC) officials to initiate a fresh tender process for laying new sewerage lines in Roop Nagar so that the problem of overflowing sewage could be resolved at the earliest.
SE Kadyan said the main reason for the disrupted power supply was the lack of rainfall. “Power demand is very high these days, leading to frequent disruptions. When power supply is restored after an outage, the Low-Tension Aerial Bunched (LTAB) cables melt due to the excessive load, causing fresh disruptions in several colonies,” he said.
He added that the power supply issues would be resolved on priority, with new transformers to be installed in some colonies and damaged cables to be replaced at the earliest.