3-hour cuts? Bengaluru in dark for over 6 hours

BENGALURU: The three-hour load-shedding schedule announced by Bescom could mean many more hours of darkness in reality. On Friday, load-shedding in at least two localities of the city went beyond the announced hours. The power utility on Thursday announced three hours of daily load-shedding in three installments between 6am and 9pm, a schedule far removed from reality. Vijay Kumar, a Malleswaram resident, told TOI on Friday: "Today's newspapers spoke of a three-hour power cut in the city. Since morning, we're seeing outages every second hour. By 5pm, we've had six hours of outage." The senior citizen said the government shouldn't play with the citizens' lives. "Our life has been thrown into disarray," he said. Retired zoology professor DS Srikanta, from Banashankari III Stage in south Bengaluru, said: "Thursday was the worst. We had intermittent supply from 10.30am to 7.30pm, totalling six hours of outage. On Friday, outages were frequent and accounted for three hours by evening." Srikanta said: "In and around Banashankari, power cuts are carried out on local Bescom unit's whim, and children are the worst hit. My little granddaughter cries (every time power goes off) as the house becomes stuffy." Syed Imran, a software analyst from Sahakarnagar, said he would call Bescom helpline in case of outage, only to be promised early restoration of power. "They never keep their word and offer no explanation for the erratic pattern," he said. Bengalureans are increasingly growing skeptical of Bescom's promise. "Many areas in the city are experiencing power cuts for up to six hours, and the schedule is an eyewash," Radha M, from Malleswaram, said. Rajiv K from Koramangala has decided to live down unscheduled power cuts in Bengaluru. "Until ministers experience our plight, they wouldn't act. Our area had had three cuts by 4pm Friday," he added. Resident welfare organizations and citizen groups want Bescom to stick to the schedule and not shock citizens with extended power cuts for one reason or the other. -TOI