The residents of Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow suffered a major power outage on Saturday. Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (DVVNL) had cut off the power supply to more than 10,000 smart prepaid meters in the district without prior notice.
The consumers in Mainpuri, irritated and annoyed, reached the Karhal Road Power Station to stage a protest against the power supply cut. However, they were enraged to find out that the office was closed. On the second Saturday of every month, the office stays closed. After a while, the official sent messages on WhatsApp groups demanding advance payments.
Lucknow's DVVNL headquarters disconnected electricity to homes on Saturday without prior notice. Smart prepaid meters have been installed in 140,000 homes out of the 300,000 connection holders in the district by the executing agency, GMR Agra Private Limited. On Saturday afternoon, the power supply to approximately 10,000 homes suddenly went out. At first, the matter was not paid attention to due to pleasant weather. Later, upon inquiry, it was discovered that the supply was coming to the meter but not to the homes.
ALSO READ: ECI To Announce Poll Schedule For 4 States And Puducherry At 4 PM Today
When the residents inquired in 1912, they found out that the supply had been stopped in Lucknow for the non-payment of the monthly bill. The officials also mentioned that the supply will be resumed only after making an advance payment along with the monthly bill. The residents were angry and could not act, as the power station was closed. At last, the supply was resumed minutes after submitting the bills online.
Sanjay Dubey, a resident of Mohalla Avadh Nagar; Ajay Kumar; Brijesh Singh, a resident of Karhal Road; Dhanesh Verma, a resident of Madhau; and Pratipal Singh, a resident of Karhal Chauraha, say they paid their electricity bills on Friday evening but were not sent any payment-related messages, Jagran News reported.