Outcry in Mohali over power cuts and water supply issues
In his letter, deputy mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi said that the number of power cuts increased in the entire city with the advent of summer season; Most of these cuts are due to blown fuses of transformers as a result of increased power demand; There is a huge shortage of staff in the electricity department; Rest of the city also faces severe shortage of workers and there are only two workers for Phase 3B1, Phase 5, Phase 3B2, unable to solve the faults
Deputy mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi has written to the superintending engineer of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) regarding repeated power cuts in Mohali city, urging him to increase the number of employees immediately and install transformers as per requirement.
In his letter, Bedi said that the number of power cuts increased in the entire city with the advent of summer season. Most of these cuts are due to blown fuses of transformers as a result of increased power demand. There is a huge shortage of staff in the electricity department. Rest of the city also has severe shortage of workers and there are only two workers for Phase 3B1, Phase 5, Phase 3B2, unable to solve the faults. Long power cuts take place especially at night, due to which people are suffering, he added.
He also mentioned that three more transformers are already passed by PSPCL in his ward but they have not been installed. He said the number of elderly people in the entire city, including his ward, was very high and oxygen concentrators for sick elderly people, installed in people’s houses, are unable to run without electricity. At present, the situation is that the light goes out for several hours at night. These devices are not converter-driven and require a power supply, the letter said.
Residents struggling for drinking water in Derabassi
Residents of Guru Nanak Colony in Dafarpur village are struggling for drinking water. With the water supply cut off, there is chaos in the colony.
The residents explained that they have been deprived of drinking water for the past 22 days, and despite lodging complaints with the water supply department and local administrative officials, no solution had been provided yet.
Former sarpanch Rajinder Singh and other colony residents stated that drinking water supply had been disrupted for quite some time. For the past 22 days, the water supply has been completely shut off, causing significant difficulties. Amid the scorching heat, residents have been forced to order water tankers out of their own pockets. A tubewell in the nearby village of Mor Thikri is the primary source of water, but the supply only reaches a few houses, leaving the rest without a single drop of water.
On the other hand, sub-divisional officer Karamjit Singh from the water supply department explained that the tubewell was initially installed to supply water to about 70 houses. Now, the same installation was supplying water to approximately 1,100 houses. Unauthorised colonies in the area have severely disrupted the water supply, he added. Some residents have built underground tanks to store water, which causes water to run out before it reaches other houses, further leading to difficulties. He added that builders in unauthorised colonies have laid down pipes as per their wishes and connected them to houses, thus obstructing the water supply. A new tubewell has been installed, but it is not operational yet due to pending electrical connections, Singh said.