Stealing power in Ramazan for night cricket

Law-abiding citizens bear the brunt; pay inflated bills showing line losses

HYDERABAD:

Power theft for organising night cricket matches on major roads and busy intersections across Hyderabad has reached its peak during Ramazan, while the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) has failed to curb the illegal practice.

On one hand, HESCO has been unable to reduce the duration of load shedding during the holy month, with both scheduled and unscheduled power outages continuing throughout the day, besides the electricity suspensions on the pretext of faults. On the other hand, the company appears ineffective in preventing open power theft across the city.

Across Hyderabad, including Latifabad and Qasimabad, night cricket matches are being played until Sehri under high-voltage floodlights illegally connected to main power poles. Residents, civic groups, and the media report such power theft every year during Ramazan.

Although HESCO occasionally conducts token operations-confiscating wires and floodlights at a few locations-the practice soon resumes.

Residents fear that the burden of this electricity theft will ultimately fall on law-abiding consumers and they will get the inflated bills with additional charges in the form of line losses. According to consumers, sub-division officials often issue detection bills to selected users who are not part of any 'arrangement', forcing them to make repeated visits to HESCO offices for corrections, despite their modest electricity usage.

Despite certain feeders being declared 'load-shedding free', reports indicate that even these feeders experience power outages, particularly in the morning hours.

In addition to electricity theft, the night cricket matches also disrupting traffic flow on major roads and intersections. Residents complain of large gatherings of youth and spectators, with loud cheering and commentary continuing late in the night, causing disturbance in the neighbourhoods.

Citizens have criticised both HESCO and district authorities for failing to take effective action. While HESCO frequently issues press releases about ongoing operations against power thieves-sometimes in collaboration with Rangers and the FIA-no significant action has been taken against the dozens of openly organised night cricket events powered through illegal connections.

Meanwhile, some of the young players claim that not all matches rely on stolen electricity, though they admit such incidents may occur at certain locations. They argue that Ramazan naturally sees increased nighttime activity, as many people stay awake until late and sleep after Sehri and Fajr prayers.

The youth further maintain that the lack of proper sports grounds in Hyderabad, Latifabad, and Qasimabad compels them to play in streets and on main roads. Existing grounds, they say, are either unusable or lack adequate facilities. They added that not a single ground in the city is currently equipped for night cricket. According to them, if the district administration or the municipal corporation were to install floodlights at designated grounds during Ramazan, the issue could be resolved.