Bangalore:
With the polls over, the power crisis has returned to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Power cuts in the Bangalore and Hyderabad were almost nil ahead of voting day.
In Karnataka, rural areas especially districts such as Hassan receive only up to 4 hours of supply a day. North Bangalore is the worst affected. Residents and commercial establishments switch on generators at least 2 to 3 times a day. (
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Latha, a resident in North Bangalore says, "Power cuts are very frequent and we realize it is since the time polling got over. Morning hours are such a rush and at that time there is usually no supply. Also during the night, there are many power cuts"
Officials in the Power department were unavailable for comment but sources indicate Bangalore is likely to now have scheduled power cuts up to 3 hours a day to bridge the gap between supply and demand. The city's requirement per day is close to 3500 MW, and is falling short of meeting that by nearly 1200 MW. (
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Bangalore's famous Iyengar Bakery for instance bakes for 13 hours a day but production has dipped since 17 April, when Karnataka voted. "If there is one hour of power cut, I lose more than 15000 rupees which is a big amount for me. We request the government to give us uninterrupted power supply," said Lakshmeesha, the owner.
Karnataka requires nearly 9500 MW of power a day. Of which nearly 40 percent is consumed by the irrigation sector. So now, the department of electricity is going to phase out supply of power to North, Central and Southern Karnataka in a way that the grid is not impacted at a time.
In Tamil Nadu, the situation is no different. Unannounced power cuts of around six hours a day, in addition to the mandatory closure of industry during peak hours is causing huge losses in Coimbatore. And this is the reason why nearly a thousand micro units have shut shop there. (
Polling Over in Tamil Nadu, Power Cuts Back)