Power work at snail’s pace in Mahabalipuram

Besides frequent blackouts, the tourist town known for its Shore temple and other attractions, is also facing a loss of business as, according to locals, foreign tourists who used to stay for longer periods of time in Mahabalipuram now prefer to stay at Puducherry and visit the seaside town only during the day. 

“This is mainly due to the frequent power cuts here. This town survives on tourism and we are suffering due to frequent power cuts,” said a local resort owner on condition of anonymity.

In 2015, social activists and other residents of Mahabalipuram filed a petition seeking continuous power supply in the area. Following that, the Central government announced an Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) at an estimate of Rs 15 crore. The work was handed over to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) and as per the scheme, all overhead electric cables had to be changed to underground cables for 35 km in the Mahabalipuram town.

The work was scheduled to end in March 2019. Lion A Veerasammy from Mahabalipuram says that work is not happening on a regular basis and the officials are not using earthmovers to dig the roads. “Instead they are digging the pits manually, so the work is proceeding at very slow pace,” he said.

When contacted, N Vinoth Kumar, assitant engineer, TANGEDCO, Mahabalipuram said, “We are not getting enough support from the local residents as they are not allowing to dig pits in front of their house. We cannot use the earthmovers because there are many telephone lines and internet cables along with a water pipeline, so it’s not a good idea to use it.” He also said it will be helpful if they get sufficient support from the Municipality and assured that the work will be completed soon.