Gurugram Power Outage Triggers Water Crisis As Electricity Employees Strike
Widespread power outages plunged several areas of Gurugram into darkness following a three-day strike launched by electricity department employees. The blackout disrupted essential services and triggered an acute water crisis across residential colonies including Ashok Vihar, Palam Vihar, Rajendra Park, and Sectors 4, 5, 23, and 105. Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam logged over 5,500 complaints within the first 12 hours as local businesses, kirana stores, and pharmacies reported severe distress, including spoiled temperature-sensitive medicines and failing inverters. The strike was called to protest the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission's decision granting a parallel distribution licence to private firm Eleven Power for Gurugram and Nuh. Protesting unions voiced concerns that private entry into high-revenue zones would undermine public sector distribution and threaten roughly 40,000 jobs. In response, Haryana Minister Anil Vij stated that the strike was unwarranted, noting that the state government opposes privatisation, had strongly contested the application before the regulator, and is appealing against the order.