Power blackout, road blockades in Puducherry as electricity workers’ strike enters fourth day

Opposition leader urges Chief Minister N. Rangasamy to convene a special session of the Assembly to discuss the extraordinary situation prevailing in the U.T. due to the strike by the electricity employees and the continuous power cuts

Puducherry plunged into darkness for hours in a major power blackout on Saturday evening even as the indefinite strike by electricity workers against privatisation entered the fourth day and the situation threatened to snowball into a crisis for the NDA government in the Union Territory.

Public ire against frequent and extended power outages spilled on to the streets after 6 p.m. resulting in road blockades in different parts of the city, including the Raja Theatre, Mudaliarpet and the ECR, and in several suburban areas. A group, led by G. Nehru and Prakash Kumar, MLAs, staged a dharna in front of the Chief Secretariat raising slogans against the Centre and lambasting the failure of the leadership to find a solution to the crisis.

Meanwhile, Electricity Minister A. Namassivayam convened an emergency meeting with the Chief Secretary and other top officials of the electricity and police departments to undertake measures on a war-footing to restore supply.

The administration was able to restore power to most parts by 9 p.m.

Officials sources said that as part of a contingency plan drawn up by the administration since the strike began, a 25-member team from the Power Grid Corporation of India has been helping with calibrating the power supply across the Union Territory. The administration has also hired a few retired hands and private contractors to tide over the situation.

Police security is being stepped up across critical sub stations and to provide security to the contingency staff should they be confronted by striking workers, sources in government said.