Power Cuts Disrupt Normal Life in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: As she prepares breakfast, Anne labours in the dark kitchen of her home in Bengaluru and it is 6 am in the morning.

The IT city and the rest of Karnataka have been struggling to cope with power cuts for over two weeks. Residents have been told that it may get worse; the daily three-hour power cuts will now last an hour longer.

"My daughter finds it difficult to study," says Anne, who lives in Fraser Town.

Her neighbor, Kala, says: "There is no fixed time for power cuts. If there is, we can at least plan."

The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company or BESCOM, which supplies power to the city says the situation could improve after September 13, when some power generating units are repaired.

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Until it is fixed, however, industries have been asked to work on weekends and shift their days off to weekdays, when the demand is more.

"We have asked industries to take a weekday off, so that the system is not burdened on weekdays," Geetha Chavan, the Public Relations Officer of BESCOM, told NDTV.

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With rains being less than normal this year, the production of hydroelectricity has also been affected.

Industries and commercial establishments are expected to have two hours of power cut a day in Bengaluru. The rural areas, however, will remain without power for five hours.