Large parts of Chandigarh without power, water for 36 hours

Chandigarh, Feb 23: Chandigarh has been without electricity and water for nearly 36 hours now owing to a massive power outage due to a three day strike by electricity department workers.

Several homes have been without power and water supply since Monday evening. Traffic lights too have not been working in many areas and government hospitals have rescheduled surgeries.

"We have a backup plan like we have generators. But you cannot put 100 per cent load of a hospital on a generator. So, we had to reschedule or postpone our planned surgeries," the Chandigarh Health Services Director Dr. Suman Singh told PTI.

The electricity workers are protesting against privatisation of the electricity department. While meetings have been held, no resolution has been found as yet. The workers are saying privatisation will change their service conditions and would also lead to a rise in power tariffs.