In a symbolic protest against prolonged power cuts, residents of Gopal Nagar in Bathinda brought out traditional hand-held fans, known as 'pakhis', to shame the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) authorities. The locality faced outages from 10 am to 2 pm on Thursday, which residents termed the worst time for maintenance work.
Residents Voice Their Frustration
"We have patients, elderly people, and children at home who need comfort when the mercury has crossed 40 degrees Celsius. Under such circumstances, power cuts are unjust. If the PSPCL had to carry out repairs, it should have been done at least two months ago when the weather was cooler and power demand was lower. Doing this now goes against people's interests," said residents Harjinder Singh, Karamjit Kaur, and Rajinder Kaur.
The women added that they had long forgotten about using pakhis but had to pull them out from old almirahs and iron trunks amid the ongoing outages.
Power Cuts in Other Areas
The outages were also reported in Arjun Nagar, Jogi Nagar, and Rajiv Gandhi colony on Thursday. A public notice issued by the PSPCL on April 21 stated that it has launched a campaign to improve and modernize the electricity distribution system. To carry out the renovation work, the power supply in various areas will remain suspended. In Bathinda, the outages are planned from April 20 to April 25 in different areas.
Residents of Gopal Nagar displayed their pakhis as a reminder of the discomfort caused by the power cuts, urging authorities to reconsider the timing of such maintenance activities.
