Tired of power cuts, say residents of Vasai-Virar

Mumbai, July 27 * Shaila Naik, who owns a DTP printing press near Nallasopara railway station, has stopped counting her losses ever since the load shedding has been increased in her area. “I have shut down my photocopy machine and have to turn away customers during power cuts,” she says. Facing load shedding from 6 am to 2 pm and again from 6.00 pm to 10.00 pm in the night, Naik’s business hours have come down to just four hours now. “The inverter is of no use as it does not get charged enough,” she rues.
* Dr Bhuraj Sankhe, who runs a 20-bedded hospital in Nallasopara, is worried about his mounting diesel bill. “The expenditure on generator over these last few months has doubled. I spend Rs 20,000 only on diesel in addition to the electricity bill. I cannot put this burden on my patients as they come from poor background,” he says.

It was frustration over mounting power cuts that prompted the residents of the Vasai-Virar belt to stage a rail roko last week. Hardly 30 kms away from the Shanghai-dreaming Mumbai, the residents of these distant suburbs are going through punishing load shedding schedules, with the authorities struggling to supply the 30 MW that 2.5 lakh customers need. The areas are currently facing load shedding of over eight hours, with some areas going without power for up to 12 hours a day.

“We are tired of this load shedding. It is depressing to see that Mumbai enjoys uninterrupted power supply while we are subjected to over 8 hours of power cuts. We understand the grim power situation in the state, but this kind of power cut is almost inhuman,” says Virar resident Sneha Joshi, who has to adjust her daily chores according the load shedding schedule. “Even after coming home we cannot sleep peacefully. Every night, power goes for an hour.”

Nidan Diagnostics Centre in Virar has another problem: it has to keep patients waiting till the power supply resumes for conducting digital X-rays. “We do not run X-ray machines during load shedding as the generator does not take load and affects the clarity,” says an employee.

With property rates still in the affordable ranges, a large number of people from Mumbai’s congested localities are shifting to these areas. One such new resident is Swardha Bandivdekar, who shifted from Borivali to Nallasopara four months back. “We never knew the load shedding problem was this bad. We now regret taking a flat here,” she says.

No wonder then that there is a huge demand for inverters. Inverter manufacturer Pravin Pathare says that he has sold around 425 inverters in the last six months, each costing Rs 14,000. “As the load shedding hours increase, people turn up for inverters. There are also others whose inverters have crashed and need a new one,” he says.

For those who cannot afford one, enterprising businessman Nikhil Pawaskar from Nallasopara has formed a society, Daivadnya Sahkari Path Pedi, which gives loans for purchasing inverters. “Our monthly instalments are as less as Rs 500 so that even a poor vegetable vendor or a daily wage labourer can afford it,” he says. Since its launch last Sunday, around 12 people have sought loans so far.

MSEDCL executive engineer (Virar-Nallasopara) V B Jagtap says the power utility is helpless. “This region comes under ‘C’ tier where electricity losses are in the range of 35 per cent. The load shedding is necessary to maintain the grid stability,” he says.

There are around 2.5 lakh customers whose electricity requirement is a meagre 30 MW. Old and dilapidated electricity poles, sub-stations and other machinery account for losses to the tune of 15 per cent. Electricity theft also results in loss. “We have received approval for a Rs 100-crore project for replacing the old power equipment and cables which should provide some relief. However, reducing the load-shedding is not possible immediately,” he said, adding people might have to brace for additional cuts if there is a drought-like situation.