HYDERABAD, March 18: Erratic power supply to different parts of the city for the past several days has made the lives of people miserable. Several crucial operations had to be postponed on account of power failure , the Medical Superintendent of Civil Hospital, Hyderabad, Dr Shafqatullah Memon, said on Thursday.

The indoor and outdoor patients were the main sufferers in the CHH as power breakdowns were occurring daily. According to Dr Memon, power breakdowns were taking place in the hospital for the past several days but the Hesco officials were completely indifferent to the problem.

As a result of the power breakdown, water supply was the first to be affected, he added. The spokesman of Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) claimed that repair and maintenance work was being carried out therefore electricity shutdowns were taking place in different areas.

He said the shutdowns were being observed on alternate days. In the areas of Saddar sub-division and Gari Khata sub- divisions, power breakdowns of longer durations were reported with people complaining against Hesco.

The summer season has just begun and the performance of Hesco is being exposed frequently, said a shopkeeper in Saddar. Lajpat Road, Saddar Bazaar, parts of the Cantonment and other areas had no electricity for several hours first in the morning and then in the afternoon on Thursday.

The consumers also complained that the power bills were often exaggerated forcing them to run from one Hesco office to other for redress. Be it a residential area, shopping centre or Civil Hospital, the water supply gets automatically affected when there is no power supply.

On February 14, Hesco Chief Executive Brig (retd) Tariq Arshad had visited the CHH following reports of load-shedding. He had taken serious notice of power failures of longer duration affecting the hospital and asked the Hirabad sub division to ensure regular power supply.local35