Team Herald
MARGAO: Residents and business owners in Colva have been grappling with severe power disruptions in recent days, causing frustration and also economic losses. The unscheduled outages have left locals and businesses alike in the dark, with no prior notifications from the Electricity Department.
On Sunday, for example, a large part of the village experienced a prolonged blackout — there was no power from 9 am to 6 pm. Dozens of workers were seen working atop the electricity poles and said they were replacing a few old poles on the Colva beach road, catching many off guard. Restaurants and cafes, crucial to the area’s tourism-driven economy, bore the brunt of these outages. One cafe owner said they struggled to hire a gen-set at the last minute, with customers already awaiting their orders on the busy morning. Adding to the chaos, the electrical work reportedly damaged internet lines, further isolating residents and businesses. As of Tuesday, these communication issues remain unresolved.
On Tuesday, Colva restaurants
reported another three-hour power cut starting at 3 pm, severely impacting their business during peak hours. The power woes extended to other areas like Fatorda, where residents endured outages lasting from late morning until mid-afternoon.