3 days ago
Transformer snag leads to 10-day outage at this village in Greater Noida
Greater Noida: A 10-day power outage in Rajpur village under Dhankaur block due to a snag in two transformers led to a protest on Monday even as power officials attributed the crisis to "dues" running into lakhs.
The discom disconnected 15 connections.
Later power supply was fully restored by Tuesday, Noida Power Company Limited (NPCL) officials said. The protest was staged at NPCL office in Sigma 4 over "no power for nearly 10 days" due to two "faulty" transformers, villagers alleged. The sit-in protest, held under the leadership of Kisan Ekta Sangh, demanded immediate replacement of the transformers.
Villagers who united under the leadership of Advocate Satish, state general secretary of KES, asked, "Why were those residents made to suffer who have been clearing their dues?"
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While NPCL replaced the two transformers on Monday following the demonstration, discom officials claimed, 40 consumers — from among 1,000 residents — owed Rs 44 lakh in dues, adding, fourteen consumers had outstanding amounts of Rs 1 lakh, many pending since 2012.
The protest was called off after talks between NPCL officials and farmers and assurance from the discom on installing new transformers.
NPCL will organise a special camp on Sunday (June 29). "At the camp, residents will be able to pay their outstanding bills and apply for new electricity connections," NCPL (operations) vice-president Sarnath Ganguly told TOI.
KES national president Soran Pradhan told TOI, "The transformers were not being replaced because some consumers in the village did not clear their outstanding dues.
This angered the residents of the village. They maintained those who had cleared their dues should not be punished with no power supply. Hence, a protest was held to demand the immediate replacement of the two transformers and resumption of supply in the village.
"
Soran maintained that during this time, residents managed the water supply from hand pumps and slept on rooftops and under trees. "But this is also the norm in villages.
Thankfully, no one fell ill," Soran said.
While residents raised slogans against NPCL, the in-charges of Sector Beta-2 and Dankaur police stations reached the spot.
Ganguly said NPCL had been compelled to disconnect the supply of 15 consumers due to non-payment, "despite multiple notices", as alarmingly, some individuals owe over Rs 1 lakh in dues. "However, after Monday's protest, the villagers have collectively agreed to prioritise bill payments to prevent financial losses to NPCL.
Those without existing connections are also expected to regularise their electricity usage by applying for new connections during the upcoming camp," Ganguly said.
"This comes after the villagers, many of whom were power defaulters since 2012, promised to clear their outstanding electricity dues and ensure timely payments," Ganguly said, adding that Rajpur village comprises 40 electricity consumers who collectively owe approximately Rs 44 lakh in unpaid bills.
