A three-day strike by electricity employees opposing the proposed privatisation of power distribution has disrupted electricity and water services in several parts of Gurugram, with outages reported in residential sectors since Wednesday night and further interruptions expected through Saturday, according to a report by Live Hindustan – NCR.
The immediate disruption has been reported in Palam Vihar and Sectors 3, 5 and 6, where electricity supply stopped at around 10 pm on Wednesday after a technical fault developed in the feeder’s main high-tension line. The outage affected water supply the following morning because local pumping and distribution systems depend on electricity.
Contract workers reportedly searched for the fault until around 1 am but could not identify the problem. Residents’ welfare association representatives then contacted Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam superintendent engineer Shyambir Saini. According to the report, Saini assured residents that an experienced team would be sent on Thursday morning to locate the fault and restore supply as soon as possible.
The disruption has also been reported in Sector 7, Sector 7 Extension, Sector 9 and Sector 9A. Residents said the electricity outage had led to water shortages, while mobile phones of some linemen, junior engineers and sub-divisional officers were switched off during the disruption. Electricity supply was also reported to be unavailable in Daulatabad village since late Wednesday night.
In Sector 54, residents of Suncity township reportedly did not receive Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority water after electricity failed in the area. The incident highlights the operational dependence between electricity distribution and urban water supply: a fault in the power network can quickly affect pumping, treatment, storage and local distribution even when the water utility itself has not reported a separate breakdown.
Tilak Raj Adlakha, president of a residents’ welfare association, said that restoring supply was proving difficult during the strike and appealed to residents to remain patient. The report also quoted former Palam Vihar RWA president Dinesh Vashisht, who said he had spoken with the DHBVN superintendent engineer about the outage.
The strike follows a decision by the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission to license a private company to supply electricity in Gurugram and Nuh. Electricity employees have begun a statewide three-day strike in opposition to the move. The industrial action has therefore affected not only the policy debate over the future ownership and management of distribution, but also the day-to-day response capacity available when faults occur in densely populated urban neighbourhoods.
According to the report, several areas may remain without electricity from Friday, October 23, through Saturday. The reported restoration effort in the affected feeders and the continuity of water supply will depend on when the technical faults are identified and electricity services are brought back online.
