Shops shut by evening at Jayanagar Shopping Complex as power outage enters third week

A fire incident on November 24 has left Bengaluru’s Jayanagar Shopping Complex without electricity for nearly three weeks, forcing traders to close by 4 pm and suffer heavy losses during the festive season.

Bengaluru’s well-known Jayanagar Shopping Complex is witnessing an unusual and worrying situation, with shops shutting down much earlier than usual due to a prolonged power outage. For nearly three weeks, traders at the complex have been struggling to run their businesses after an electrical fire incident on November 24 disrupted the power supply.

Since the incident, electricity has not been restored to the complex. Although repair works were initiated, traders allege that officials failed to complete the work within the promised deadline. What was initially communicated as a one-week repair has now stretched into three weeks, leaving shop owners frustrated and anxious.

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As a result, most shops are now forced to close by 4 pm, as the complex plunges into darkness by evening. This has severely affected business, especially since actual footfall usually picks up after 5 pm. The situation proved particularly damaging during the Christmas and New Year period, traditionally one of the busiest seasons, leading to significant financial losses for traders.

Only a handful of shop owners who can afford generators are managing to operate in the dark, using minimal lighting from a few bulbs. However, this is not a viable option for most traders in the complex.

The impact is sharper in Jayanagar, where around 70% of customers are women, including working professionals and homemakers. Most of them visit the market in the evening hours, making early closures a major blow to sales.

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Traders say a quick completion of the repair work would immediately bring relief. Officials have now assured them that power supply will be restored by Monday, but with earlier deadlines missed, concerns remain over further delays.

Until electricity returns, shop owners fear continued losses and uncertainty, questioning how much longer they can sustain business under such conditions.