Reels-addict govt clueless on tackling power outages, says DMK leader Senthilbalaji

CHENNAI: Lambasting the ruling TVK government over prolonged power cuts across the State, former Electricity Minister and DMK leader V Senthilbalaji on Sunday accused the regime of administrative paralysis and demanded immediate war-footing measures to restore uninterrupted electricity supply.

In a statement, Senthilbalaji alleged that residents across the State were being forced onto the streets at night due to outages lasting between six and 12 hours, triggering road blockades and public protests even in Chennai.

"Instead of creating content for Instagram influencers, the government must focus on ending the power crisis and addressing the suffering of people protesting in the middle of the night," he said.

Targeting Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, Senthilbalaji said the promise of change made during the election campaign had turned into disappointment within a month of the government assuming office. He also criticised Electricity Minister R Nirmalkumar for offering conspiracy theories instead of solutions.

Referring to recent remarks by the minister on the alleged theft of fuse carriers, missing hard disks, and sabotage by electricity board employees, Senthilbalaji questioned the logic of linking those incidents to large-scale outages.

"The government is diverting attention rather than explaining the real reason for the power cuts," he alleged.

Citing figures from the previous DMK regime, the former minister said Tamil Nadu had successfully managed rising power demand without major outages. He claimed the State's peak demand had touched 20,974 MW in April this year, while uninterrupted supply was maintained under the previous government.

He urged the TVK administration to move from reels to reality and take immediate corrective measures to prevent further disruption.