4-hour power cut at Hiyaa flats; tenants say it's too much
According to STELCO, the power outage was caused due to the shorting of the transformer that was supposed to supply electricity to Hiyaa Tower-1.
By
Ahmed Naif
As the time for breaking fast neared on a Ramadan eve, a large section of the Hiyaa flats suddenly lost power on Monday. At the time, it was 5.30pm. Many people, who had gone out in the evening were stranded near the lift unable to get to their flats to break their fasts. Others were unable to finish preparing the Iftar meals. A large part of the Hiyaa population had to break their fasts in complete darkness and with scraps.
"In the dark, in the heat, even my little one didnt stop crying, for so long. Just went on crying. My problem is not the power getting cut. It's how long it took. The electricity that went in the evening came back halfway into the night," said a resident of the 22nd floor of Hiyaa Tower, H-6, while narrating the problems faced.
"It's as densely populated as Addu. This keeps happening because we are not getting the attention that is required to give to a place like this. That's why I'll say it took so long. I would say it's just too much."
According to STELCO, out of the 16 towers in the Hiyaa housing flats, power cuts were reported from 1 to 8th. According to STELCO, the power outage was caused due to the shorting of the transformer that was supposed to supply electricity to Hiyaa Tower-1.
It's as densely populated as Addu. This keeps happening because we are not getting the attention that is required to give to a place like this. That's why I'll say it took so long. I would say it's just too much.
'Problem is electricity network'
Explaining the reason for the delay in power supply, a STELCO official said that it took so long to return power because of the way the power network was installed in the Hiyaa towers. Since the power supply from Hiyaa Towers 1 to 8 is provided through one cable, when power goes from one tower all of them lost electricity as well, the official said. Since the transformers and other electrical network equipment installed there are not kept by STELCO, even if something is damaged, STELCO will have to take the necessary equipments there and solve the problem, he said.
"We have looped only one cable to provide electricity to Towers 1-8. The network here is so incomplete. Even tonight, we had to give electricity by taking a temporary board from STELCO there. It takes a lot of time to sort out the problems as the problems in the network are bigger," the official said.
Even in the situation where power is being supplied from the Hiyaa towers, there is no backup system in place in the area, which is home to around 30,000 people.
We have looped only one cable to provide electricity to Towers 1-8. The network here is so incomplete... It takes a lot of time to sort out the problems as the problems in the network are bigger.
The Hiyaa towers received electricity around 9.30 pm.
STELCO officials said that if the Hiyaa towers want to solve the long-standing problem of electricity going through them, they will have to make changes in their power network.
However that hasn't happened yet. This requires permission from the HDC. Last year, all the flats in the entire Hiyaa housing area were without power due to a cable breaking down.
