``We have been busy with the raids against power theft,'' says a senior official posted in east Delhi, though the raids started only from February 16. ``There has been little time to carry out repairs''.

So some areas like Vishwakarma Nagar, in east Delhi, went without power supply for the past two days. Area Sangharsh Samiti President V.P. Goel led several residents to a protest outside the local DVB office.

Hauz Khas, Gulmohar Park, Panchsheel Park and Asian Games Village faced a two-hour power cut from 10 a.m. yesterday. In Paschim Vihar and Muhkerjee Park, residents had to do without electricity for four hours from noon. Today, there was no power for four hours in several east Delhi areas like Seelampur, Bhajanpura, Shastri Park, Kartar Nagar and Kailash Nagar. Another round of power cuts is scheduled to take place in these areas on March 30.

And the DVB's official reason, as usual, is: ``Some maintenance work has to be carried out in these places. Inconvenience caused to the consumers is regretted''.

The real reason, says former DVB engineer S.N. Jain, is that most DVB employees go on leave during winter. ``As a result, very little work is done during December-February, though all electricity lines, transformers and sub-stations are supposed to be checked and readied for the coming summer''.