CHENNAI: The daily one-hour load shedding may not be pleasant thing for public, but it seems to be so for the staff of three government offices housed in the Aringer Anna Shopping Complex at Thirumangalam. And with good reason. These offices start working an hour later than usual everyday, as the power goes off at Tirumangalam and surrounding areas at 10am, exactly when the official working hours begin. The general practice is for employees to arrive at 11am and this has been the case for last 45 days, since the power cut timings were changed (4pm-5pm) to the current one. More than 100 staff members work in all three offices put together, and TNHB staff need to make electronic receipts for payments by the public, which of course is not possible with no electricity. Both the Anna Nagar and Mogappair divisions of TNHB cover far off places like Korattur, Villivakkam, Manali, Gummidipoondi, Nolambur, Avadi etc and people come all the way to these offices. Mohan, who waited at the complex to get approval for his new flat in Ambattur, says he has been asked come everyday, but there were not many attendants on duty even after the stipulated opening time, 10am. In fact, residents are obliged to wait outside, as fans don’t run in the visitors’ section due to the power shutdown. The shopping complex on the first floor of the building, belongs to Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) — Anna Nagar Division. The two other offices in the same building are TNHB — Mogappair Division and Head office of TN Adi Dravidar Housing Development Corporation (TAHDCO) on the second floor. While other private shops on the ground floor have hired a generator, the government offices remain unoperational without basic amenities such as lights or fans, until the power resumes at 11am.Arunachalam, Head of TNHB Anna Nagar Division, said that staff members find it very difficult to work without fans due to the power shutdown. A proposal requesting a generator has been prepared to send to the concerned authorities, he added. Jayapaul, Head of TNHB Mogappair Division, says they also have deadlines to finish certain tasks and suggest changing the load-shedding timings to 1-2pm as this will make things better. However, Vijayaraj Kumar, MD of TAHDCO, says they were not affected by the power cut and insists work must be managed even during the load-shedding period. There’s a timetable for load-shedding and the timings are changed once every three months, said Pandi, Superintendent Engineer, CEDE (West). He said he hasn’t received any requests from TNHB officials to change the load-shedding timings and he would forward complaints to concerned authorities if he received any.
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