Electricity outage forces Maduvvari to a standstill

The island of M. Maduvvari has been without electricity since dawn, this Monday, forcing a cessation of all public services, says Maduvvari Council.

Vice President of Maduvvari Council, Hassan Mahaaseen reported to “Sun” that the island had been suffering power outages for two three days.

“We have been affected by power outages for two-three days now. Power started going out at 2:45 am (this Monday). It comes and goes. Children and adults alike weren’t able to sleep. The power hasn’t come back since it went out at around 6 am this morning,” said Mahaaseen.

Mahaaseen said class has been cancelled for kindergarten students due to the power outage, and that all public services have been interrupted.

He said the island suffered from power outages in 2017, and that the new panel board brought to solve the problem wasn’t working.

“There’s no hope for a solution to the power outages until the generator is fixed,” said Mahaaseen, adding that a team of Fenaka Corporation staff from M. Mulaku was now in Maduvvari to try to fix the problem.

“We are repairing it by bringing in parts from other islands. It provides a temporary solution for a couple of days and then the issue rises again,” said Mahaaseen.

He said the people of Maduvvaru wanted a suitable generator to be brought to the island to fix the problem.

“The people gathered at the powerhouse today to express their distress. Because electricity keeps going out in different parts of the island. The power goes out suddenly and it damages electronics. The people therefore do not want the power to be brought back until the problem is fixed,” said Mahaaseen.

The 753 or so people in Maduvvari have been without power for 18 hours and counting.

The island uses an 80-kilowatt generator to power the entire island.

Fenaka Corporation confirmed Maduvvari is suffering from power outages. But declined to make any further comment.