In the outskirts of Delhi, in Greater Noida’s Makanpur Khadar, time has been measured not in days, but in darkness. For more than a month, entire villages in the area lived without electricity. The reason for the no-electricity period are transformers which broke down and no one came to repair it for more than a month. A month of irresponsibility and lack of accountability led to homes being powerless, kitchens stifled by heat, and children robbed of the light they need to read and learn. This comes as parts of Northern India undergoes heat wave warnings.
The transformers broke down after a storm hit the area on 2nd May 2025. Locals claimed they complained promptly to all the authorities; however, there was no relief in sight for over a month. Every complaint to district engineers, state help lines, and local officials dissolved into the void, unanswered until mid-June.
Just a few kilometers away, in Makanpur Bangar, the same story repeated itself. Transformers in the area broke down leading to children sitting in sweltering darkness; unable to join their online classes. Residents complained, “We couldn’t even charge our phones or fan ourselves in this heat. We survived on candlelight.”
In UP’s Bijnor, the power outage crisis turned tragic after a hospital’s power cut led to the death of a dialysis patient as the backup generators ran out of fuel. An official probe into the private PPP dialysis center, run under government partnership, revealed serious lapses in protocol but to the bereaved family; those findings offered cold comfort.
Across Uttar Pradesh, from the ghats of Varanasi to the villages of Noida, simmering anger has spilled onto the streets. Locals have gathered to protest the rampant power cuts in their areas. They have also been calling out empty ministerial boasts of record supply and promises of 24 hour electricity.
Meanwhile, the cottage industry and other small-scale industries also face the brunt of these power cuts across districts in UP. In Lakhimpur Kheri, artisans and factory workers said that the machines aren’t getting the required electric supply and hence are unable to operate properly. This puts extra pressure on the already stretched small-scale industry ecosystem.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath politicizes the electric supply issue and claims that the state has better power supply now under his regime. Not only local leaders, but even Home Minister Amit Shah has claimed that under BJP’s rule, UP is transitioning into a ‘new age’ with better power supply. But the reality doesn’t match, as locals fight for some relief amid failed promises.