Residents protest power cut, vandalise vehicles

A violent protest broke out in East Delhi’s Kondli area on Wednesday night after several local residents protested an eight-hour-long power failure.

They vandalised at least three cars and a bus during a three-hour-long traffic snarl caused during the disturbance. Some people were also injured though none was officially sent to hospital, police said.

A officer at New Ashok Nagar Police Station said a rioting case was registered against unarmed people, adding that three persons were initially detained. Personnel were deployed by the East Delhi police authorities to control the situation.

The incident revived memories of the frequent public protests that marked the national capital in the mid-2000s because of blackouts. The angry residents slammed the BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) over its claims of improved power availability this summer.

“It was very difficult for us to spend so many hours without power in the humid weather,” said Surya Prakash, a resident. A section of the Kondli residents claimed that they were forced to come out of their homes, alleging the power failure was a handiwork of the BYPL authorities, police said.

‘Power cut a vendetta’

According to the residents, the BSES authorities disconnected the electricity to settle scores with the ‘power thieves’ who had beaten up the company’s raid officials on Wednesday afternoon. The BYPL Yamuna authorities denied any vendetta behind the power cut.  “There was a disruption in power supply in the area due to a local fault. It was attended to and the supply has been restored,” said an official statement.

The statement, however, confirmed the attack on the power firm employees by some residents. “In a shocking incident, BYPL employees on duty were attacked by miscreants in East Delhi. We have lodged FIRs against the miscreants and the police are investigating the matter,” it said.