Rain effect: Pune areas without power for 18 hours; WFH and water supply affected

Areas like Dahanukar colony in Kothrud, Panchavati at Pashan, BT Kawade road, parts of Hadapsar faced up to 18 hours of power cuts

If Sunday evening’s rainfall battered Pune with waterlogging and traffic chaos at most places, for many residents the woes continued even on Monday as the power supply could not be restored till afternoon in various areas.

Trees fall due to heavy rains at Panchvati, Pashan. (HT PHOTO)

Areas like Dahanukar colony in Kothrud, Panchavati at Pashan, BT Kawade road, parts of Hadapsar faced up to 18 hours of power cuts, disrupting water supply and work from home schedule of many.

According to Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), power supply was disrupted at most places due to tree falling incidents and waterlogging. At some housing societies in Katraj and Bibwevadi, power supply was disconnected as water gushed inside their meter rooms.

“Due to heavy rainfall on Sunday, a tree fell on the 11KV feeder causing overhead conductors of 11 KV line to snap at Panchvati on Pashan road. Four transformers were shut due to waterlogging in Aundh and Shivajinagar. Power supply in most areas was restored by 11.30 pm on Sunday. Around 1,000 consumers were affected. In Kothrud, power supply was disrupted affecting Woodland , Mahatma Society , Gopinath Nagar , Sahajanand society and nearby area for half an hour between 4.30 and 5pm. Three distribution transformers were affected in Kumar Parisar and Swaroop Park between 7pm and 9pm. The 22 KV Vedbhavan feeder was affected from 7.09 pm tp 8.10 pm. Around 1,500 consumers were affected in Bharti Nagar, Bandal Complex , Mokate Nagar,” said an MSCEDL officer requesting anonymity.

Intense rain during two hours between 4:30pm and 6:30 pm on Sunday caught many by surprise as many areas were marooned due to waterlogging while roads witnessed traffic jams. According to fire brigade department, as many as 25 areas in Pune including Pashan, BT Kawade road, Chandannagar, Hadapsar, Kothrud, Paud road, Pashan, Wanowrie faced heavy rains.

Ulka Awasthi a resident of Panchvati, Pashan said, “Due to heavy rainfall on Sunday, there was a tree falling incident, disrupting electricity from 4.30 pm till 10.30 pm. On Monday, there was another tree fall incident leaving us with no electricity from 6.30 am to 3pm.”

To restore power supply, MSEDCL deployed additional manpower in various areas. In Kothrud, the supply was restored by 11:30am.

Sarika Deshpande who works for an MNC claimed she was severely inconvenienced with no electricity in Dhahanukar colony for around 18 hours. “I had important meetings but had no electricity or internet. There was no electricity since 6pm on Sunday. We also faced water supply issue,” she said.

Sudhir Ghag, a resident of Dynaeshwar Park on BT Kawade road said, “Within half an hour of the rain, the road was waterlogged and following this, there was no power supply in Dynaeshwar Park. Electricity was restored at 2 pm on Monday.”

According to the chief fire officer Devendra Potphode, “Due to heavy rains on Sunday, we received 15 calls regarding tree fall incidents across the city. No casualties were reported. Tree fall incidents caused disruption in Hadapsar, Jagtap chowk, Shivajinagar, Saswad road, Prachi Hotel Erandawane, Pashan, State Bank Nagar, behind Kothrud fire station, Dhayari, Vimannagar, Galande ground, Wanworie, Command hospital, Panchwati, Boat Club road, Nalanda school Dhayari, Salunkhevihar and NCL.”

According to India Meteorological Department, Magarpatta had received 55.8 millimetres and 55.5 millimetres of rainfall on Sunday.