The commercial hub of Bistupur in Jamshedpur tasted power blackout, a term otherwise almost valien to those living or working in Tata Steel command areas, when a Jusco transmission line suffered a technical snag on Friday morning.

Power went off around 10am, leaving homes, shops, offices and business establishments stewing in heat and humidity till 12.05pm, when the problem was finally fixed. The traffic light on the busy Bistupur Main Road also stopped functioning for a couple of hours.

Several offices switched on generators to conduct businesses while those without power backup had no choice but to brave the blackout.

"The power cut began soon after we opened office. We do not have a generator. Work was affected for two hours," said an insurance company employee at Voltas House.

Residents of Bistupur were in for a surprise. "Rarely do we face such a prolonged power cut," said Asha Sharma, a homemaker at South Park.

Another resident and Tata Steel employee A.K. Pandey said they had last faced an hour's power cut in June. "That was also because of a snag like today, which led to interrupted supply."

Spokesperson for Jusco Rajesh Rajan said the snag was detected in the transmission line between Bistupur substation and Tata Steel's powerhouse gate in Jugsalai. "This led to disruption in supply, which was restored around noon, within two hours," he added.