Residents block the Arakkonam-Thakkolam main road in Ranipet against power cut

Angry residents said the issue has not been addressed for over a fortnight, despite repeated complaints to local officials to ensure uninterrupted power supply. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Residents, including women and shopkeepers, blocked the Arakkonam-Kancheepuram main road at Parameswaramangalam near Arakkonam town in Ranipet on Friday due to power failure in the area for many days.

Most of the 1,500 families in the village are agricultural laborers and farmers. With the intensification of agricultural activities during the harvest season, frequent power outages affected the irrigation of agricultural land in the area. “Regular unplanned power outages have affected the motor pump sets that are used to irrigate the paddy fields. The farm laborers do not have regular work in the village due to power cuts,” said G. Rajesh, a farmer.

Residents said that apart from agricultural activities, regular unplanned power outages also affected household consumption as they were unable to supply water to the upper reservoir. Local panchayats supply water to households for an hour on average every day.

Water supplied by the civic association is stored in sumps for individual households. However, due to power outages, residents could not use water supplied by the local body. As a result, residents store water in several containers for domestic use.

The power outage also affected the operation of household electrical appliances for everyday use. “For more than a fortnight, we have been making repeated complaints to the local officials of Tangedco to ensure uninterrupted power supply. However, the power cuts in the village have not been resolved,” resident R. Suganthi said.

High power consumption

Tangedco officials said the existing 110kV electrical transformer was unable to meet the needs of more than 600 consumers in the area. Household energy consumption has increased in the area due to the scorching heat as many houses have air conditioning. With summer holidays for students, high energy consumption results in frequent transformer breakdowns.

In this regard, agitated residents blocked the key stretch towards Thakkolam at around 11 am, affecting traffic on the busy stretch. Acting on the alert, Thakkolam police and Tangedco officials rushed to the spot and pacified the protesters. Tangedco officials said efforts have been made to upgrade the existing transformer or install an additional transformer to avoid power cuts in the village. After being reassured by the officials and the police, the residents dispersed peacefully.

Published – 30 May 2026 0:57 AM IST