Residents alleged that they had been facing frequent power cuts for around a month.

The protest began around 11.30 pm and continued until 12.49 am, with residents refusing to leave the road until Electricity Board (EB) officials reached the spot and addressed their grievance.

However, even after police officials held talks with the residents and asked them to clear the road, they remained firm and insisted that police call EB officials to the spot. When the police tried to contact the EB officials, the officials reportedly did not attend the calls.

The residents then insisted that officials should be brought to the spot before considering withdrawing the protest. Subsequently, two police personnel went towards the EB office and contacted the officials. Only after this did two EB officials arrive at the protest site and inspect the issue.

They then rectified the immediate fault, following which power supply was restored in the affected area. An EB official also told the residents that the existing EB pillar would have to be completely replaced and assured them that the work would be carried out the next day.

Following the intervention of the EB officials and restoration of power, the residents withdrew their protest and the road was cleared for traffic.

Power cuts disrupt residents' sleep, daily routine

The affected residents alleged that power supply would sometimes go off around 11 pm and get restored only in the morning, affecting their sleep and daily routine. They claimed this has been happening for almost a month.

The affected stretch is along Langs Gardens Road, between the police quarters and the Chennai Government Urdu School. Residents alleged that while Tyagarajan Street faced prolonged outages, nearby areas just a few metres away continued to have power supply. They pointed out that the police quarters on one side and a hotel and the CMDA building on the other side had electricity even when their street remained without power.

Residents said they had been approaching the EB office for more than a week and repeatedly requesting officials to address the problem. “When we complain online, they receive the complaint, but they do not come. When we go to their office, they do not solve the issue and do not allow us to meet a higher official,” said the father of a seven-month-old boy.

Police officials told the residents that blocking the road was not an appropriate way to raise the grievance. They advised them to submit a written complaint signed by all affected residents to the EB office and said online complaints alone would not be sufficient.

However, the residents insisted that they had already approached the EB office several times and would not withdraw the protest unless officials came to the spot. They maintained that had the EB officials not arrived, they would have continued the protest through the night and remained on the road until morning.

A resident said the issue had continued despite the new government assuming office 100 days ago. “The TVK government been in office for 100 days now, but we have been facing this issue for nearly 30 days,” the resident said.

Residents said their protest was aimed at drawing attention to what they described as repeated inaction despite several complaints. Some also urged Egmore MLA and Minister Rajmohan to visit the spot and intervene in the issue.