Il was A Tale of Two Cities story yesterday in the capital.

The lights went off in another spell of worst power failure. leaving thousands of people reeling under oppressive heat without the comfort of fans and water supply.

On one side of the city where markets are concentrated, bright, multi-coloured neon signs blinked in and out. displaying varieties of advertisements and shining shop fronts.

The other struggled to cope with the darkness and sultry weather with candles, lanterns, emergency lights and generators for hours.

The best of times

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No one seemed to lake note of the callous use of precious electricity.

Not only did the advertising signs glitter, but also the community centres where lights portrayed the glamour of the ceremonies inside.

Bright mercury lights at street junctions also burnt at places where there was power supply uncut.

The city fathers had been wise to install the lights to provide a clear view of the street corners so that traffic could pass smoothly even though many of the streets not far away were missing them.

All these were going on despite the nation-wide power cuts and frequent failures.

Officially, the shops and markets are to down their shutters at 7pm. Bill boards with powerful lights and neon signs are not to flash in the I evening. Nor the lighting deco- 1 rations at social gatherings and weddings are to be there.

But no one takes the trouble of enforcing the austerity measures to stop wastage of power when the parts of the city remain in darkness for hours together after the oppressive afternoon heat.

A bit of prudent use of electricity, keeping the consumption to the minimum, could save a lot. experts say. But no one seems to be paying any at-(ention to that.