City’s major areas remained powerless through the day. Areas along Ferozepur Road, Pakhowal Road, SBS Nagar, BRS Nagar, Civil Lines and many other areas reported outages with residents struggling in the hot weather.
“It was not that heavy rain yet the city plunged into darkness. The entire day was wasted as there was no electricity throughout the day,” said Gurpreet Singh, a resident of BRS Nagar.
Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Panchsheel Colony, said: “The rain lasted barely an hour but the outage stretched through the day. Families were left without fans or lights and children struggled to sleep in humid conditions”.
Harpreet Singh, a shopkeeper in the Pakhowal Road area, “Power supply trips whenever it rains. It hurts business badly as customers walk away when shutters are down.”
Geetika, another resident from a locality on Ferozepur Road, said monsoon season was yet to arrive and erratic power supply is already giving a tough time. “We wonder what will happen during the rainy season,” she said.
Electricity was finally restored in the evening, bringing relief after hours of disruption.
Meanwhile, panic gripped residents of Mohalla Beria in Jagraon after heavy rain and strong winds triggered a short-circuit in overhead electricity wires in early hours of Saturday.
Residents said loud crackling noises drew people out of their houses, only to find sparks in tangled wires.
According to locals, the morning storm had already forced power corporation to suspend the electricity supply. As gusts toppled and entangled several wires, restoration after the rain led to a sudden short-circuit.
“The sparks quickly turned into fire, burning multiple lines leading into houses. We cut off our own supply to avert a tragedy,” said a resident.
By the time PSPCL employees reached the spot, several wires had already been reduced to ashes. Residents lodged complaints and demanded urgent replacement of old and sagging cables.
“The department must replace loose wires before they cause a major accident,” said another local, adding that the incident left the entire neighbourhood shaken.
