Gusty winds coupled with rain as a result of cyclone Tauktae affected those working from home during the weekend through Monday morning as parts of Pune witnessed frequent power outages.
Areas like Baner, Balewadi on the western parts of the city and Kondhwa and NIBM road on the eastern parts were the worst affected due to power outage affecting those working from home due to the Covid pandemic.
In Baner and Balewadi, there was no electricity since Sunday evening while voltage kept fluctuating during Monday morning.
“As it was a Sunday there was no work, but today we were worried as my work from home began. The electricity supply went on and off several times, affecting my work but we can understand that it is due to winds and continuous rain,” said Ameya Karambelkar, an IT professional and a resident of Baner.
Sachin Alande from Sukhsagar nagar in Bibwewadi however had to miss his morning work.
“I have a morning shift starting from 8am until 4 pm, when I started my work within an hour electricity went off and it kept on fluctuating, there was no continuous supply till afternoon and due to which I missed a major deadline at work today. When I called up to the local MSEDCL office, no one picked up the call,” said Alande, a working professional from KPO industry.
{{/usCountry}}“I have a morning shift starting from 8am until 4 pm, when I started my work within an hour electricity went off and it kept on fluctuating, there was no continuous supply till afternoon and due to which I missed a major deadline at work today. When I called up to the local MSEDCL office, no one picked up the call,” said Alande, a working professional from KPO industry.
{{/usCountry}}Parts of Hadapsar too witnessed disruption in electricity supply for around seven to eight hours before it was restored by afternoon.
Vipul Alekar, working professional from Hadapsar said, “On Sunday, we had a power cut for around eight hours in the evening. On Monday morning, there were power outages at least for 10 times. We couldn’t do any office work, or any household works like washing clothes in the washer. Rain and wind have brought in grass and tree leaves the electricity transformer in our area.”
The rains began late on Sunday and continued through Monday morning. Overnight, Shivajinagar in Pune reported 8.2 mm rainfall while Lohegaon reported 6.2 mm and Pashan reported 9.9 mm rainfall.
The gusty winds that caused damage to houses and school buildings in rural parts and tree falling incidents in some areas of city on Sunday, stopped by morning, the rain stopped by noon.
Nishikant Raut, MSEDCL’s public relation officer of Pune zone said, “The cyclone and rain effect are certainly there in some parts of the city though there was no major power cut for long hours anywhere in Pune. Our team of workers were functioning round the clock since yesterday to act on the complaints received, due to tree fallings and other disturbance there was power cut or fluctuations happening. Now everything is under control and going on smoothly.”