Residents in several villages on the outskirts of Jaipur are enduring sleepless nights and disrupted days as a severe cold wave combined with dense fog wreaks havoc on the local power infrastructure. For the past several days, electricity supply has been failing repeatedly from late night until early morning, leaving communities in the dark and cold.
Villages Plunged into Darkness Night After Night
The problem is widespread, affecting areas including Goner, Dantli, Siroli, Hingonia, Boorthal, and Kanarwas. Frustrated villagers report that despite raising complaints at the local power grid and with senior officials, a permanent solution remains elusive. The power cuts have become a nightly ordeal, severely impacting daily life.
The Root Cause: Nature Tangled with Wires
Both locals and officials point to a persistent and preventable issue: untrimmed tree branches growing dangerously close to overhead power lines. In many locations, electricity cables run directly through dense foliage or are sandwiched between trees and huts. When the thick fog rolls in, the moisture it deposits on these branches, combined with movement from birds, creates a perfect storm for electrical faults.
An official from the electricity department confirmed the technical reason behind the failures. He admitted that the feeder at Boorthal, for instance, consistently faces problems because tree limbs make contact with live wires. This contact causes short circuits, which in turn trigger the protective systems to trip, cutting off power.
Impact on Daily Life and Livelihoods
The recurring outages have far-reaching consequences. A resident of Boorthal described the pattern: power fails as soon as the fog sets in and is only restored in the early hours. Even when it returns, frequent tripping continues, making the supply unreliable. The disruption is not just a domestic inconvenience.
Small businesses that depend on a steady power supply are also suffering losses due to these unpredictable interruptions. After sustained complaints from the villagers, local power department officials have escalated the matter to their superiors in Jaipur. A local official stated, "We already informed the higher authorities in Jaipur, and the problem will be solved in a couple of days." However, residents continue to wait for a concrete resolution to the fog-induced power crisis.
