In a bid to tackle air pollution in Delhi-NCR, a complete ban on use of diesel generators has been imposed including in Noida, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Faridabad, Gurugram. However, the ban will not be imposed on essential and emergency services. Though the intent to ban diesel power generators is to curb pollution, the move has also led a lot of people to suffer who are residing in societies of Indirapuram and Ghaziabad.
Residents who are facing problem following ban on gensets have to say that the move has led every classs of people to suffer. Society's RWA has said that people who are doing work from home are facing more trouble. Though essential services, including water pumps, lifts and common area lights have been allowed to operate using gensets, there are no systems installed through which generators can provide power supply only to run these services as generator supply is for the entire tower.
Speaking on the matter, Federation of Noida & Greater Noida Apartment Owners Association (FONAA) President, Sahdeep Singh Chauhan, said "... diesel generator sets in residential high rise societies in Noida and Greater Noida are used only in case there is a breakdown in grid power, so is not a notieable contributor in pollution. Please allow the use of DG sets in residential high rise buildings of Noida and Greater Noida in the larger interest of public during Covid19 pandemic times."
"How is my child going to study in peace knowing that there could be a power cut at any moment? How am I going to work without WiFi internet?" Vikas Singh, a resident of ATS Advantage, a high-rise in Ghaziabad, worriedly asked.
The Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority ordered a ban on diesel generators, except for emergency purposes, in Delhi and neighbouring cities from Thursday (October 15) as part of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to control air pollution. However, the order has come as torture for the residents, especially those living in more than 1,000 residential condominiums situated across Delhi-NCR. These condominiums have installed back-up power systems, and almost all run on diesel generators.
The residents are questioning the applicability of the move when half the economy is running via Work From Home (WFH), and the education has gone entirely digital. Many high-rises have put out a circular this morning informing their residents about EPCA's order and shut down of the back-up power systems enforced by it.
The residents complained that the duration of power cuts in Noida and Ghaziabad could go as long as six hours in a day.
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