Mumbai power outage: Work from home shudders to a halt

With no access to power backup or WiFi networks, people working from home were forced to postpone meetings and deadlines

A power cut across several parts of Mumbai to Monday led to a rocky start for those working from home as many complained they could not log in to their systems.

With devices running out of power, many said they were shut out of work completely. (Representational Photo/Bloomberg File)

With no access to power backup or WiFi networks, people working from home were forced to postpone meetings and deadlines.

“Monday morning is extremely important for the Information technology (IT) and banking sectors. I have obviously not been able to log in to my system. I have a battery backup that I might have to use if my laptop or phone runs out,” said Jignesh Kothari, 35, who works in an investment bank.

There is a power outage in several parts of Mumbai and surrounding areas owing to a grid failure. The failure was the result of a technical glitch when the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company was undertaking maintenance work at the 400KV Kalwa-Padga GIS centre.

With devices running out of power, many said they were shut out of work completely. “My laptop is not charged. The battery of my phone is draining quickly. My mobile network is poor, too. Without electricity or internet, I cannot get online at all,” said a Goregaon resident, who works in the IT sector.

Troubles for those working in the IT sector were more pronounced. “I am completely dependent on my computer and phone. I haven’t been able to log into my office system since morning. Without access to the system, I can’t get any work done,” said Chaital Juvekar Sawant, who works in the IT giant L&T Infotech.

“While there has been no official communication, my project manager has informed us informally that since there is a power cut in Mumbai, people working at other locations such as Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune have to take charge today,” Sawant added.