Residents of localities in Bhiwani town blocked the Circular road near the Hanuman Dhani chowk on Sunday to protest against the ongoing power crisis. The protesters alleged that prolonged power cuts over the past several days have caused massive inconvenience during the scorching summer.

The protesters said power cuts have also adversely affected the water supply in their localities since a few days. They demanded their grievances to be resolved at the earliest.

Officials who reached the spot faced criticism from the protesters.

The blockage was removed after about three hours, following assurances from the officials.

Vinod Prajapati, MC member from Ward No. 25 said people were forced protest due to facing continued hardships.

He added that localities situated near Patram Gate and Halu Bazaar are being exposed to prolonged power cuts, especially at night, forcing residents to remain awake.

Despite repeated complaints, there has been no action from the officials, leaving people with no option but to stage the protest, he said.

The MC member said that power officials assured residents that the issues would be resolved and warned that if the power cuts still continued, residents would gherao Minister Rajesh Nagar during his next visit to Bhiwani.

Harish, a resident of Patram Gate, claimed that the locality remains without electricity for 12 to 14 hours a day. He alleged that while occasional outages across the town could be understood, a particular area is appeared to be specifically targeted due to differences among officials.

MC member from Ward No. 14, Jaiveer Ranga, said, residents from three to four nearby wards had joined the protest as they were facing severe power and water shortages. He alleged that officials and employees of the power department are apathetic to the grievances as they do not answer phone calls.

DHBVN Sub-Divisional Officer Ankit said the problem was caused by overloading in view of the rising demand. He said that efforts were being made to resolve the issues and expressed hope that the situation would improve soon.