Birsanagar, Chotagovindpur, Ghorabandha and several other areas serviced by Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL) reeled under prolonged power cuts and water crisis on Saturday when the mercury hovered at 42°C.

Birsanagar, the largest slum, and areas like Ghorabandha, Prakashnagar and Chotagovindpur witnessed blackouts.

“We could not sleep the entire night in the absence of power . We tried to contact local JBVNL officials, but to no avail. Power was restored this (Sunday) morning, but it was erratic,” said S.K Sen, a resident of Ghorabandha and a former Tata Motors employee.

Residents of Prakashnagar, Chotagovindpur and Birsanagar also complained of blackouts that resulted in water crisis. “Since Saturday night we could not pump water to the overhead tank. We could not take our bath this morning,” Satish Sharma, a resident of Birsanagar zone 4, said.

Private security guard Lalan Pathak of Parsudih, which faced erratic power supply and prolonged loadsheddings, managed to recharge his inverter battery from a relative’s house in Jusco command area so that his daughter could prepare for their class tests.

Cellphone users complained of dying batteries. “I was expecting an important call from a relative in Calcutta in the morning. I had to rush to a friend who has a generator,” said Amit Das, a resident of Birsanagar zone 2.

Around 1 lakh residents of JBVNL serviced areas were affected by the power crisis, that continued till Sunday.

JBVNL officials ascribed the crisis to inadequate power supply from state load despatch centre in Ranchi and local faults.

“The situation is gradually improving and the crisis will be over by Sunday evening. Our engineers are repairing the faults. The SLDC will also restore normal supply by then, “ a JBVNL official posted at the Golmuri grid substation said.