A strike by Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) workers plunged Gurugram, Faridabad, and Nuh districts into darkness since 10 pm on Wednesday, affecting thousands of consumers and industrial units.
The power department received more than 3,000 complaints of outages within 12 hours of the strike, an official said on condition of anonymity on Thursday.
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The employees had announced the strike to protest against the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission's decision to grant a parallel electricity distribution licence to a private company for Gurugram and Nuh districts.
Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh held a meeting with the employees till late at night, urging them to reconsider their decision. However, the talks proved inconclusive, and no agreement was reached to end the strike.
Several industrial units in Gurugram came to a standstill due to prolonged power cuts, with many owners complaining of potential losses running to crores of rupees.
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Deepak Maini, an industrialist and the chairman of the Progressive Federation of Trade and Industry, said there had been no power supply at Gurugram's Sector-37 since 10 pm on Wednesday.
Maini also expressed concern that any delay in the restoration of power supply could adversely affect production and business activities.
He said that the availability of finished goods and the timely delivery of supplies could also be affected.
"Power cuts at industrial units have brought machinery and production to a halt, impacting business operations. With operations suspended across hundreds of units, the risk of losses has increased," Maini said.
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Apart from Gurugram, industrial units in Kadipur and Basai were also affected by power cuts.
Several residential colonies in Gurugram had to switch to generators as inverter backups ran out, residents said.
In many areas, the breakdown of the power supply led to a shortage of drinking water. Residents say they are managing using water stored in tanks but claim that it will last only a few hours.
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"Electricity and water are both essential services. Where is the government? Residents are held hostage by DHBVN staff. There has been no power since 10 pm yesterday. Either the government should settle employees' demands or depute the Disaster Management team to restore the supply. Officers are also showing helplessness. In such a situation, how will we come up with a solution?" said Shiv Kumar Sharma, a resident.
In Faridabad, people in the New Industrial Township-2 area hit the streets, demanding restoration of power supply. They said the power cut also impacted water supply.
Upon hearing information of a road blockade, police arrived at the scene and pacified the protesters, after which they were dispersed.
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In Nuh district, the power outage severely affected life in several areas, including Punhana, Nagina, and Firozpur Jhirka.
Despite several attempts, the Superintending Engineer of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), Operation Circle Gurugram-I, could not be contacted.