Bengaluru: Frequent power cuts due to rain, maintenance work and grid failure has been causing great inconvenience to the people of Bengaluru. The BESCOM helpline number 1912, which was touted as a one-stop grievance cell for all queries pertaining to power outage has not been able to serve its purpose. The helpline remains difficult to connect during times of crisis.
Recently, a power disruption lasted an entire day at the HSR Layout. Residents in the locality made futile efforts to connect to the BSECOM helpline. Banni B, a resident says, “When contacting BESCOM failed I spoke to a friend of mine working with BESCOM and got the number of the concerned Assistant Engineer. He informed me about the issue and gave me the exact time when the power would be restored.”
Voicing a similar opinion Hemanth Kumar, a resident of C V Raman Nagar says, “I tired the helpline number of BESCOM on three occasions and have been disappointed. The helpline does not work when it rains and no one responds to the calls. What is the use of a helpline number when it cannot help its consumers?”
When Deccan Chronicle, brought the issue to N. Jayanti, General Manager, customer relations (BESCOM), she said, “Our lines have been busy as we are receiving several calls due to rain, preventive maintenance work by the KPTCL and BESCOM and tree cutting. We have 30 lines at our corporate office and have decided to add 15 more in about 3 to 4 months. I urge people to SMS their queries whenever they find the lines busy. They can send their SMS to 58888.”
