Sharjah: With summer approaching fast, the industrial areas in Sharjah have already been hit with power outages and residents are urging authorities to give them advance warning of the blackouts.
"I have a one-year-old and a three-year-old child, and the only consolidation they have is by sitting near the window to catch a breeze of air," said K. Sadiq, who lives in Industrial Area 3.
The power supply has been fluctuating for the past four days in Industrial Areas 1, 3 and 17, and residents are furious as they say they have been unable to obtain a response from the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa).
When Gulf News phoned Sewa we were told there was a technical fault and the electricity supply was expected to be restored by Saturday.
Last Ramadan, residents in Sharjah's industrial and residential areas bore the brunt of a power outage for most of the month.
The power outage disrupted water supplies, leaving many to break their fast by candlelight and perform their ablution in nearby mosques.
"I understand that there might be a shortage of electricity, but the families living in industrial areas are also human and we deserve running water just as much as families who are living in residential areas," Sadiq said.
Families said while their homes had power outages, the street lights, the electricity was still on in nearby parking lots and construction sites.
"We are all legitimate customers of Sewa hence the authorities should provide us with a proper answer as to why this is happening again," Sadiq said.
"At home, there are small children and elderly parents who have to suffer without any air-conditioning during the day and at night."
Residents also expressed their concern about the prospect of coping with the summer heat without any electricity, and noted that they may have to suffer fro the intense heat during midday.
The power in Industrial Area 1 went out on Tuesday night for seven hours, then on Wednesday from 3pm to 6pm and then again from 8pm to 2.30am.
Manjusha Bhaskar said: "What troubles me is that the rest of the city is not even aware that are power cuts and only the industrial area suffers".
"Because we opt to pay rents which fit into our budgets [we should not be discriminated against]," she said.
"The power has been fluctuating for three days now. When we did not have any electricity during Ramadan my husband and I were considering to move.But once the problem was resolved we decided to stay in the same apartment."
Resident M Harris said the power outage was intolerable because she could not cook her husband a meal when he arrived back from work, and the children couldn't cope.
In a blackout
Residents experiencing a power outage in their area can call the hotline number 991, or the customer service centre at 06 5672611/ 06 5255555
