The government has vowed an electrifying Durga Puja to the residents of Patna.

The energy department is making an all-out effort to provide uninterrupted power to the city, by suspending various works to improve and strengthen the supply system. Officials have been asked to ensure that complaints are addressed day and night.

Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (BSPHCL) deputy general manager and public relations officer (PRO) Hareram Pandey told The Telegraph: "Our chairman-cum-managing director Pratyaya Amrit is conducting an half-hourly monitoring of electricity supply. All vulnerable places and equipment have been checked and strengthened, the capacity of transformers has been augmented where needed, and connectors have been tightened. Spare equipment have been arranged to address faults. We will ensure uninterrupted supply this Durga Puja."

Pandey added that during the Puja, the power demand in Patna is around 550MW and the energy department has ensured there is no dearth of it.

"Our focus is to avoid supply interruptions and ensure a happy Puja to all," Pandey said.

In case of individual interruptions, people may lodge complaints at Patna Electricity Supply Undertaking (Pesu) helpline 1912 and control room numbers: 0612-2280024 and 0612-2280014.

Residents are, however, keeping their fingers crossed and hoping that electricity doesn't play truant.

It is one of those festivals, when demand for power zooms, putting pressure on the supply system. Also, the humidity forces people to keep fans, coolers and air-conditioners on.

"I wish continuous power supply during the Puja. We use so many appliances and everything comes to a standstill without power. Without continuous power we will not be able to enjoy the decorations all around," said Navin Kumar, a former state government official residing in Rajendra Nagar.

Several residents pointed out that uninterrupted power supply was necessary to ensure safety of people, including women and children, who hop pandals at night.

"Our entire family, including my daughters, go out to different parts of Patna in the evening and during the wee hours to pay obeisance to Durga. In case of outages, the streets will slip into darkness and pose a threat to safety. The recent power cuts should ring a bell for the administration," said Kankerbagh resident Bharti Srivastava.#