Wagholi residents see red over load shedding on Wednesday
Temporary load shedding had to be carried out in Uruli Kanchan, Wagholi, Kesnand, Perne, Sortapwadi, Koregaon, Wadeholhai, Ashtapur, Naigaon and other areas for one-and-a-half hours starting 9.30 am
Residents of Wagholi, Kesnand, Perne, Uruli Kanchan, Sortapwadi, Koregaon and other areas expressed anger at the load shedding undertaken for nearly an hour-and-a-half on Wednesday by the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL) bang in the middle of a particularly harsh summer.
A problem arose in the transmission of electricity from Koyna stage 4 via the 400 KW high-voltage line from Karad to Lonikand. A technical failure in the line disrupted the flow of approximately 50 to 60 MW of electricity supplied to the Pune circle. Consequently, temporary load shedding had to be carried out in Uruli Kanchan, Wagholi, Kesnand, Perne, Sortapwadi, Koregaon, Wadeholhai, Ashtapur, Naigaon and other areas for one-and-a-half hours starting 9.30 am. While Wagholi is among the most urbanised of the villages newly merged with the Pune Municipal Corporation, it sees frequent power outages, inconveniencing the residents.
Yogesh Dudhal, a resident of Wagholi, said, “Though Wagholi has been merged with the PMC, we lack basic infrastructure such as roads, water, transportation etc. And now irregular power supply has been added to our woes. Power outages are a regular problem in our area. However, the frequency has increased during summer, creating a pathetic situation in Wagholi.”
Nikhil Gaikwad, a resident of Kesnand, said, “The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) still treats us as a rural area of the city. Hence, we have frequent power cuts. On Wednesday, they officially imposed load shedding in our areas. On May 19, there was no power for more than ten hours. I don’t understand why we are facing frequent power failure and load shedding problems.”
Santosh Nath, an information technology (IT) professional from Wagholi, said, “Wagholi has become the worst place to live due to the uneven power supply; lack of drinking water, roads, drainage and transport; and traffic congestion. We purchased a flat here to lead a peaceful life. But it has now become a nightmare for us. There are thousands of residential societies and lakhs of people living in these societies. But there is a lack of basic services. I was very happy when Wagholi was merged with the PMC as we were expecting something good to happen. But that’s not the case.”
Nishikant Raut, public relations officer of the MSEDCL, said, “Due to technical problems, there was a power failure problem. To avoid this, we implemented load shedding in a phase-wise manner. Power supply was restored Wednesday evening.”