Hyderabad: Residents of Katedan blow a fuse over power fluctuations

Rangareddy: The inadequate maintenance of the power supply system in Katedan section was laid bare when a brief spell of rain on Wednesday night revealed significant loopholes. Persistent power fluctuations throughout the night resulted in substantial damage to household appliances, leaving residents infuriated with the officials and staff of TSSPDCL (Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited).

Complaints of power fluctuation started pouring in from 7.00 pm on Wednesday from several colonies under Katedan Section soon after the rain subsided, and people found their electric home appliances became dysfunctional a few hours later.

Despite residents’ persistent efforts to alert the TSSPDCL Katedan section and the Fuse off Call (FOC) team, the inhabitants of various colonies, particularly Kings Colony and Shastripuram, experienced continuous blinking of their bulbs, refrigerators, and television sets throughout Wednesday night. Regrettably, their attempts to bring this pressing issue to the attention of the responsible officials proved futile, leaving the residents frustrated and without a resolution.

On Wednesday, the Fuse off Call (FOC) team, known for its infrequent response to public calls, exhibited its usual behavior by consistently rejecting the grievance calls from concerned residents seeking assistance to resolve the issue. Despite the residents’ persistent efforts to seek help, the FOC team remained unresponsive, adding to the frustration and disappointment of the affected individuals.

People say that the TSSPDCL officials are well aware of the technical anomalies in the power supply system in colonies under Shastripuram area but are completely passive towards addressing the issue.

Lashing out at the local TSSPDCL officials for poor power supply maintenance, Syed Aleem, a resident of Kings Colony said, it was 7 pm in the night when the power fluctuation began but the issue was not fixed by next morning. Refrigerator, television, bulbs and ceiling fans were found dysfunctional after a whole night of power fluctuation on Wednesday night. Consumers suffer heavy losses due to the negligence of TSSPDCL authorities and staff.”

Affirming the same, Syed Shoukat, another resident of Shastripuram said, “Neither the maintenance of power supply is appropriate, nor the staff is sufficient to ensure uninterrupted power supply under Katedan Section.”

Colony residents, he further said, brought the issues like overload on transformers, dysfunctional FOC and power fluctuation to the notice of local TSSPDCL authorities time and again but to no avail. As a result, bulbs and home appliances of consumers are getting damaged every often due to persistent issues like overload on transformers, regular fuse off and power fluctuation.”

Recently, the residents of Shastripuram led by a local corporator held a sit-in before the office of the Assistant Engineer TSSPDCL Katedan Section against an ill-maintained power supply system that they said was causing severe inconvenience to the consumers. Although the AE assured the protestors of resolving the power supply issue, no proper measure seems to be put in place to address the grievance.