BAREILLY: A 22-day blackout in Soraha village, Budaun district, ended on Wednesday night after a new transformer was installed, bringing relief to 5,000-odd villagers, who had endured freezing winter nights without electricity since the old one was stolen on Dec 14. The installation of the new transformer comes a day after TOI reported the villagers' plight on Tuesday.
Junior engineer Ashok Kumar told TOI that the replacement transformer had been approved on a fast-track basis and that lineman Naresh Pal and his team installed it on Wednesday night.
The theft of the 250 kVA transformer left the village struggling with disrupted routines. Villagers discovered the stolen transformer's stripped remains under straw in nearby fields and lodged a complaint at Ughaiti police station. However, no replacement was provided for weeks, leaving residents frustrated.
The prolonged blackout hit students and farmers particularly hard. "Vijendra Pal Singh, a resident, told TOI, "We tried everything to address the issue, but no action was taken until now. We couldn't understand why we were being ignored after the transformer was stolen. The entire village is relieved, especially the children preparing for board exams and the farmers who can now irrigate their fields without incurring extra costs on generators."