Planning in advance saves the ay

MADURAI: Current ullathu (power is available), reads the board outside a photocopying shop at Kamaraj Salai in Madurai city. “Instead of disappointing customers by saying, ‘No power, come after some time’ once they have stepped inside the shop, I have simply put up the board,” says shop owner Ramesh. Inverters are no longer seen as a luxury in middle class homes. K Jeyachitra (33) of Arapalayam says, “My husband needs proper rest during the night and our children should focus properly on education, so we don’t think this is a waste of money.” However, she uses the inverter judiciously, and only for essential activities. Evidently, the power situation has taught people to plan their daily activities in advance.In the interior villages of Madurai district, power cuts last for more than eight hours, and farmers have learned to adapt. “We have fitted equipment to operate motors even during a two phase power supply,” said Raju, from Theni district.Oddapipatti panchayat president Nagajothi Sivakumar says she has instructed officials to fill drinking water in the tank for villagers, for three hours at night, during three phase power supply.People are also sleeping in the open at night. Muralidharan of Rameswaram, says devotees are sleeping on the verandas of lodges in the night, which are thankfully still pleasant(With inputs from Gokul Vannan (Madurai), S Raja (Ramanathapuram), S Mahesh (Nagercoil) and M Abdul Rabi (Tirunelveli)