28 June,2009 07:24 AM IST | | A Correspondent
City's suburbs give load shedding tips to the capital
'Get used to it!'
"Since I have born I have seen load shedding in our area (Ambernath). I don't know why people in Delhi are making such a fuss about this. I think they should get used to it. Join the bandwagon."
Tips:
> Get inverters installed
> Finish your daily chores early in the morning
> Give up luxuries like AC and the geyser
> Make sure you iron your clothes the night before or you will get late for work.
Divya Santosh (20), final year engineering student, resident of Ambernath
'Come, see how we live'
"I have been living in Badlapur for 25 years. Load shedding has been happening for the past five-six years. It occurs twice in a day, in the morning and afternoon, for a total of six hours. Earlier, we used to keep inverters in the cyber cafu00e9. Now we have added a generator for back-up. It's a huge investment but there is no option. I guess Delhi people need to come here and stay with us to understand how we live without power for hours."
Tips:
> If you're running a business, install inverters and generators to keep losses to a minimum. Or else have fixed timings to run the business.
Rahul Thorat (24), proprietor of Cyber Cafe Dream I-way, Badlapur
'Minimalism helps'
"I used to work from home, so electricity was a must for me. I have installed an inverter at home and use it carefully. We keep the lights on only in one room to minimise the use of electricity. As we began to get used to the load shedding schedule, the housework started to get done early."
Tips:
> Iron your cloths before the load shedding.
> Grind the masalas needed for meals a day before and preserve it in a refrigerator.
> Wash clothes in the washing machine before load shedding.
Smita Deodhar (42), housewife and freelancer, Thane
'Learn to enjoy it'
"We have learnt to enjoy the moment without complaining. All of us gather in one place and light candlesu2026 sometimes even scented ones. Instead of cursing power-cuts, learn to see the positive side to it, like being able to take a break from work."
Tip:
> Use the load shedding time to do something that doesn't need electricity, like taking a walk.
Gaurav Gupta (25), operations head for a media company, Nerulu00a0
'My reading hour'
"Load shedding has made me more disciplined. I now devote time to books. The biggest benefit is that I get enough time to sleep... usually I'd be sitting at the computer."u00a0
Tips:
> Start living life as if you were in the Stone Age era.
> Get up early and finish all your work before the sun sets.
Jatin Sharma (24), radio producer, Dombivili
'Enough of luxury'
"We have lost business due to load shedding as there is no electricity. Inverters don't work for professions (beauty parlour) like ours. We have been enduring nearly 12-hour-long electricity cuts for years now. Delhi citizens need to get used to it as we did, probably they need to give up the luxury life that they are known for."
Tips:
> Save water
> Save electricity
> Make sure that your kids finish their homework before the power goes
Ekta Narwani (41), parlour owner, Ulhas Nagar
