Team Herald
PANJIM/MARGAO: Several parts of Panjim were thrown out of gear for nearly five hours as the power supply was stopped on Saturday morning for pre-monsoon works. The situation is expected to be the same even on Sunday.
Meanwhile, residents of Margao and Fatorda held a demonstration at the Aquem powerhouse to protest the frequent power cuts in their areas, while commuters were inconvenienced due to a power outage near the Rachol jetty in the evening.
The Electricity Department is on its toes to complete the pre-monsoon work to ensure 24×7 power supply to consumers during the monsoons, which is set to hit in June. As part of the work, power cuts have been scheduled for the State, including Panjim.
On Saturday, the city witnessed a power cut from 9 am to 2 pm, as the department had arranged a shut down at the 33/11 KV Campal sub-station. The affected areas included: Mont Pio Quarters, Altinho, the area near Hotel Manoshanti, Panjim market, Tonca, Miramar, Campal and surrounding areas.
The soaring mercury and power cut threw normal life out of gear, with consumers complaining about the situation.
“We understand that it is pre-monsoon work, but at the same time, the department needs to be a little sensitive. With the increasing temperature, they should be aware of how difficult it is to live without ventilation even for a minute,” said Nilima Rao, a housewife.
The areas that will be affected by the power shutdown on Sunday are: parts of Panjim, Tonca, Miramar, Tambdi-Mati, Bhatlem, Taleigao and surrounding areas.
“Pre-monsoon works like inspecting transformers, changing oil, underground cabling, and repairs are in progress. The electricity consumers will get quality and consistent electricity supply this monsoon,” said an electricity department official.
Meanwhile, Fatorda and Margao residents held a demonstration at the Aquem power house on Saturday. They asked the power dept officials to ensure that the power cuts are stopped. Fatorda locals said they have been facing power cust frequently.
South Goa Superintending Engineer Subhash Parsekar was confronted by prominent citizens and MMC councillors.
“Where are the streetlights? Where is our electricity going? The electricity of the people is being diverted to industries, and the government has failed to give us our basic need of power,” said Dattaraj Pednekar, a protestor.
A junior engineer stated that the department had procured some equipment recently and now they were waiting for the rest. The power department officials also blamed the incoming line grid failure, but the Fatorda locals pointed out that this was the same excuse given during the major blackout two months ago. They also questioned why the problems had not been addressed yet.
Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, who was present at the protest, asked the government to take the people of Fatorda seriously and warned that they would gherao the power minister if the power cuts continued.
“Uninterrupted power supply is not a favour but an obligation of the Electricity Department, which has increased tariffs continuously. Power cuts will be responded with hartals and direct action,” said Sardesai.
The absence of proper facilities at the Rachol Jetty caused a lot of inconvenience to commuters on Saturday evening as the jetty had to face a power outage.
The power outage affected the street lighting in the area. With a heavy volume of vehicles and commuters trying to get on board the jetty, there were problems a plenty at the jetty. One of the bikes almost skidded into the water and in the process, a fellow commuter sustained leg injuries.
