July nightmare: Frequent power cuts plague Pimpri-Chinchwad

“Residents had no water because pumps could not function and lifts in residential buildings stopped working. Daily life came to a standstill,” Taras told The Indian Express.

He said residents marched to the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) office seeking answers.

“MSEDCL officials repeatedly said cables had gone under water and distribution transformers were damaged due to the rain. Their response only fuelled public anger,” Taras said.

He added that even public representatives, including Maval MP Shrirang Barne, faced the residents’ ire.

“People wanted uninterrupted power supply restored immediately. When MSEDCL itself could not provide answers, there was little elected representatives could do,” he said.

Ganesh Langote, a resident of Chinchwad, said several localities in Ward 14 of Akurdi have continued to face frequent outages.

“MSEDCL officials told us there was no money available for maintenance work. Three NCP corporators assured the officials that funds could be arranged through the local MLA and the District Planning Committee, but power cuts should stop. Despite that, the situation has not improved,” Langote said.

He said corporators Pramod Kute, Vaishali Kalbhor and Aruna Langote held a meeting with officials of the MSEDCL’s Bhosari division to discuss recurring outages in Mohannagar, Kalbhornagar, Ramnagar and Dattawadi.

The power crisis has also affected industries in the Bhosari MIDC area.

Abhay Bhor, president of the Forum of Small Scale Industries Association, said prolonged outages and inadequate street lighting have raised serious security concerns.

He said industries have also reported unauthorised liquor sales and the movement of intoxicated persons in poorly lit stretches of the industrial area.

“As a result, women working night shifts are forced to travel in fear. Poor coordination between the electricity department and the civic garden department has delayed repairs of streetlights and trimming of trees, worsening the problem,” he said.

The association has demanded that the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) immediately repair non-functional streetlights in MIDC areas and conduct a technical audit of the lighting system.

Power disruptions have also affected the PCMC’s own infrastructure projects.

The civic body recently held a review meeting with senior MSEDCL officials and directed them to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply, particularly for water supply and sewage treatment projects.

“To ensure uninterrupted, quality and safe electricity supply to citizens, timely power connections for municipal water supply and sewage treatment projects, and prompt resolution of pending works, a detailed review meeting was held with senior MSEDCL officials in the presence of Mayor Ravi Landge and Municipal Commissioner Dr Vijay Suryawanshi,” the civic administration said in a statement.

The administration said MSEDCL was instructed to ensure that electricity supply to water supply and sewage treatment facilities is not disrupted under any circumstances and that complaints related to power supply, meters and billing are resolved promptly.

Responding to the complaints, MSEDCL said it had undertaken restoration work on a war footing in Ravet and adjoining areas.

Superintendent Engineer S. Gaikwad of MSEDCL’s Ganeshkhind Circle said heavy rainfall in early July submerged sub-transmission (ST) feeders and Ring Main Units (RMUs), leaving them underwater for nearly 20 hours.

“After the water receded, moisture entered the equipment and faults developed in the underground cables. The cable fault detection work was also delayed because of waterlogging in the area,” Gaikwad said.

He disputed residents’ claims that power supply remained disrupted for five days, saying electricity was affected for about three days and only in around 30 per cent of the Ravet area.

Gaikwad said MSEDCL is expanding infrastructure to improve reliability. “There are currently two substations in Ravet. We are setting up four more, of which one is complete and work on the remaining three is in progress. We also require permission from the PCMC to lay underground cables and space for additional feeders,” he said.