After Nearly 36 Hours Of Power Outage, Electricity Supply Restored In Chandigarh

Chandigarh Blackout: The electricity supply was restored after the power department workers ended their strike.

Chandigarh Power Outage Latest Update: Nearly after 36 hours of a power outage, the electricity supply was restored in Chandigarh. The development came after the power department workers ended their strike on Wednesday.

In Chandigarh, the power outage had disrupted the electricity and water supply with several business establishments and coaching institutes coming to a standstill. The residents complained of not being able to contact the complaint centres because either the phone lines were busy or the mobile phones of concerned officials were switched off.

Several houses within the city were without power and water supply since Monday evening. Due to the power outage, the government hospitals had to reschedule surgeries and online classes were affected for the students. Moreover, the traffic lights had also stopped working in parts of the city.

In the meantime, the mobile operators association issued a statement on Wednesday acknowledging that the outage had disrupted mobile network connectivity in certain parts of the city.

Residents in many parts of Chandigarh continued to face power outages on Wednesday morning with electricity supply remaining disrupted after the employees of the electricity department went on a three-day strike against privatisation. The electricity workers were protesting against the privatisation of the electricity department which, they fear, will change their work terms and also drive up power tariffs.

The residents of Chandigarh, however, blamed the city administration for remaining a mute spectator, leaving them in lurch as the power outages crippled the city.

Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib Manish Tewari sought intervention of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the matter, saying there is chaos and anarchy and all essential services have come to a standstill.

“Dear @AmitShah ji Chandigarh has been without electricity for 36 hours. There is chaos & anarchy. All Essential Services are at a standstill. @ChandigarhAdmn has miserably failed to address the situation. Chandigarh is an Union Territory. Kindly intervene,” said Tewari in a tweet on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Chandigarh administration had invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act, banning strikes by the electricity department for six months. There were, however, reports that electricity supply was getting restored at some places.