Bengaluru: The ‘tripping’ of a Bescom transformer in the HAL 2 stage led to a disruption in power supply in and around Indiranagar on Friday, for more than four hours.
The Bescom officials initiated action only when some local residents raised the issue with the Bescom helpline.
According to locals, at around 10.30 am there was a disruption in the power supply in various localities including Indiranagar 18th main, parts of CMH road and New Byappanahalli Extension. But the problem wasn’t rectified until around 2.30 pm after local BESCOM officials were alerted by affected residents.
“It is a sad situation that we need to alert civic officials every single time to get our problems solved,” said Kumar Nath, a member of the ‘I Change My Indiranagar’ forum.
“How could Bescom officials fail to detect any major technical snag in a transformer for more than three hours? At least six thousand houses were affected by this disruption,” he pointed out.
‘Helpline not free’
According to Bescom customers, one of the main issue is that the helpline number 1912 is not toll-free.
“All other agencies have launched toll-free helplines to ensure citizens reach customer care representatives easily, but the Bescom helpline is not toll-free at all. In addition, customers have to wait of a minimum of 2 to 3 minutes to get connected with a customer care representative,” said Shanmugam Krishnamurthy, a resident of New Tippasandra.
Problem rectified soon
When we contacted Bescom East Circle officials, they claimed that as soon as they got complaints, the problem was rectified within a few minutes.
“Tripping is one of the most common problems in transformers. People can alert our staff by calling our helpline 1912,” said an officer.
“We receive an average of about 5 to 6 complaints over transformer issues on a daily basis. The main reason for the tripping of transformers is poor maintenance,” explained another officer.
