Two-day downpour damages electric cables, parts of city in darkness

PUNE Rainfall of the past two days left parts of Aundh, Baner, Kharadi, Ramtekdi, Hadapsar and Wagholi in darkness for eight to 12 hours, as electric cables laid

PUNE Rainfall of the past two days left parts of Aundh, Baner, Kharadi, Ramtekdi, Hadapsar and Wagholi in darkness for eight to 12 hours, as electric cables laid down by Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) were affected.

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There was no electricity in parts of Aundh, Baner and Balewadi until 11 am of November 5.

“It was raining non-stop, followed by thunder and lightning, when we saw a spark blow up on the distribution board near Junawane Motors, Mahadji Shinde road,” said Swapnil Patil, resident of Aundh.

In another incident following rain, residents in Kharadi as well as Wagholi were in darkness for more than six hours. According to resident Nitin Kumar said, “There was sparking and blasts near Satav high school feeder. We called the fire brigade who directed us to called the MSEDCL emergency number which was unreachable. The fire brigade told us we had to file a complaint with MSEDCL for they to send someone to work on it. According to the message from the assistant engineer MSECDL, there was load on the 22 KV manjari feeder and the rains caused it to fuse out.

According to Bharat Pawar, deputy chief public relation officer, regional office MSECDL, “Rains are the biggest deterrent for electric cables and sometimes due to water seepage, the cable joints are damaged. We are developing a system called ring main units, that will not leave citizens in darkness for long. The system will help us find the fault faster and help repair the faulty joints as well as cables which catch moisture during rains.”

MSEDCL has put these units in Aundh, Baner, Shivajinagar and Deccan and other parts of the city.