By SALIHU MUHAMMAD SANI

Residents of Yartafki, Dankawo, Tudun Iya and Maska communities in Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina State have appealed to government for solution over the three-year blackout facing their communities.

A cross section of residents from the affected communities who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday called the attention of the authorities to help restore power supply in the communities.

The people said the prolonged outage caused by damaged electricity poles and infrastructure needs both local and state governments’ intervention.

They said the development has seriously affected socioeconomic activities and put serious financial pressure on entrepreneurs who now rely on generators.

A soft-drink vendor, Alhaji Ja’afaru, said the electricity crisis has significantly increased his daily operating expenses.

“I spend about ₦8,000 every day purchasing ice blocks from Funtua town to preserve my products,” Ja’afaru said.

Similarly, a welding and fabrication artisan, Malam Habibu Ibrahim said that his fuel expenditure has risen dramatically since the power supply was interrupted.

According to him, he previously spent between ₦3,000 and ₦4,000 daily on petrol, but now spends as much as ₦20,000, depending on the nature and volume of work.

A mobile-phone charging operator, Muhammad Lawal also disclosed that maintaining his business with a generator now costs between ₦6,000 and ₦7,000 daily, further reducing his profit margin.

He warned that continued power disruption could further ruin local businesses, employment and economic activities, urging the authorities to treat the matter as an emergency.

Efforts to get the reaction of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) on the matter were unsuccessful, as officials at the company’s Funtua Zonal Office declined to comment on the issue. (NAN)