Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Power cut lands their business in crisis

— PHOTO: M.Vedhan

Groping In Darkness: Power cuts have forced shopkeepers in Spencer Plaza to resort to candle lights.

CHENNAI: Scheduled power cuts have spelt doom for hundreds of commercial establishments in popular malls in the city. While some of the facilities are managing with generators, others including Spencer Plaza, which is one of the largest malls, find the alternative unviable.

On Thursday evening, several shops in Spencer Plaza wore a gloomy look as the lights went out. Some shopkeepers even downed shutters briefly in protest. For over a month now, the power supply is interrupted from 3 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m every day. Shopkeepers lament that the power crisis could not have come at a more inopportune time, as it is peak business season till New Year.

Most small shopkeepers, who cannot afford inverters, have been shutting down early. “What else can we do?” grumbled Mohammad Munim, a Kashmiri garment dealer, who said he was unable to send back much money home due to a significant drop in his income.

With the centralised air-conditioning not working and shops along the narrow alleys shrouded in darkness, customers are turning away, he said.

A shop floor assistant at a garment store said they were unable to meet their business targets. Stores depending on foreign buyers are worse as they typically prefer shopping comfort over cost.

At a shop selling electronic gadgets, the manager said since he could not do a demo of the products customers were refusing to buy.

The power cuts have also come to affect the ambience of the mall.

Many shops had lit up candles inside. Shoppers did not have the comfort of swiping their cards as the electronic billing machines did not work.

They grumbled while climbing up and down the stairs as the escalators and lifts stopped.

Shopkeepers who had a meeting with the mall management said they were told that it would cost several lakh rupees to rent a generator to operate the lights, escalators and air-condition at the facility. However, shopkeepers at relatively smaller facilities such as Citi Centre and Alsa Mall said a high-voltage generator helped them tide over the power crisis. The power cut had not hurt business in a big way, though.

A maintenance officer at Citi Centre said the generators guzzled over 4,000 litres of diesel in a day to have the lights and air-conditioners on.

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