June 11, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 06, 1429

HYDERABAD, June 10: Pow-er riots broke out in the city on Monday night and continued on Tuesday as Hyderabad Electric Supply Company resorted to implement an unscheduled load-management policy in the city in which many areas were hit badly by power outages in the sizzling heat.

At least three buildings of Hesco offices were ransacked by indignant power consumers who lost tempers after their areas remained without power supply for several hours on Monday.

The offices of Allama Iqbal, Memon sub-divisions, and Latifabad sub-divisions were ransacked.

Furious consumers, including women, damaged the property, computers and smashed the windowpanes of the offices.

The offices of Allama Iqbal and Memon sub-divisions were attacked on Monday as people complained that there was no power supply for over seven to eight hours in their area.

The most common compliant is that Hesco’ complaint centre staff was not available at the office and those available do not provide correct information.

Besides ransacking of Hesco’s buildings, people took to the streets, lit bonfire in areas of Gau Shala, Khai road, Sero Ghat, Faqir Ka Pir.In one such protest at Sero Ghat, protesters placed a corpse of a woman, Chiragh Bibi, wife of Nizamuddin, on the road claiming that she had died of non-supply of electricity.

According to the deceased woman’s son, Iqbal, she had fallen unconscious following a seven to eight hour long power breakdown and subsequently died.

Hesco has announced that it would ensure load management policy of two to three hours but ground reality is that power supply goes off for more than four to five hours a day and in some cases erratic supply ensued.