CHENNAI: Residents of Vyasarpadi in Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s Perambur constituency staged a sudden road blockade on Friday (September 18), protesting prolonged and frequent power cuts that had reportedly affected the area for the past three days.

Residents said several areas in Vyasarpadi had been experiencing frequent power outages during the day and night, with some outages lasting for several hours.

They also complained of frequent voltage fluctuations, alleging that it had damaged electrical appliances in several houses. Agitated over the lack of a satisfactory response despite contacting the EB’s emergency helpline, hundreds of residents, including women and children, gathered on a main road in Vyasarpadi and staged a blockade.

The protest disrupted traffic in the area.

Vyasarpadi police reached the spot and held talks with the protesters. They assured residents that faulty cables and transformers would be repaired and steps would be taken to restore uninterrupted power supply.

According to the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (TNPDCL), the disruption in parts of Vyasarpadi was caused by a cable fault in an underground power cable.

The affected areas included Desinganandam Street, Moorthinagar Street and MM Garden.

TNPDCL said that the underground cable was being repaired and that power supply would be restored after it was rectified. It later said the repair work was completed and power supply was restored at 5.35pm on Friday.