India, May 23 -- LUCKNOW Around 10 pm every night, residents of Vasudev Nagar Colony in Lucknow's Chinhat area begin preparing for what they now call the "daily blackout".

Coolers fall silent. Fans slow down and stop. Inverters begin beeping. Children step out onto terraces to escape the heat trapped inside homes, while elderly residents sit outside in dimly lit lanes waiting for electricity supply to resume.

For the past several days, this has become the 'night routine' across large parts of the state capital as Lucknow struggles through a worsening power crisis amid intense summer heat.

From Chinhat and Kamta to Shivpuri, Jankipuram and Faizullaganj, residents say long power cuts, repeated tripping and severe voltage fluctuations hav...