Residents, traders in Navi Mumbai and Thane furious

Residents of Navi Mumbai and Thane are upset that they have to suffer three- to four-hour power cuts daily.

Residents of Navi Mumbai and Thane are upset that they have to suffer three- to four-hour power cuts daily.

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On Wednesday, the Shiv Sena led a morcha to the MSEDCL office in Vashi.

There have been several agitations across the district over the past few days.

Mahesh Lal, a resident of Vashi, said they have been paying an additional charge to the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) to get uninterrupted power. “The MSEDCL had announced that additional charges were being levied to ensure Navi Mumbai becomes a zero load-shedding area. What happened to that promise?” Lal asked.

In some areas of Thane, there is no power for up to seven hours daily. “For some time Kalwa had zero load-shedding. But now, we have four-hour power cuts daily,” said Malati Sonawane, 50, a homemaker from Kalwa. “Due to this, there’s water scarcity as well.”

Businesses too have got hit badly. Pankaj Lugani, a Vashi-based printer, said: “The festive season is peak time. We have to meet deadlines.”

Industries in the Thane-Belapur industrial belt are unhappy about the 16-hour weekly power cuts imposed on them. Kiran Churi, president of the Small Scale Entrepreneurs Association, said: “Sixteen hours would mean we will lose every Friday. As it is, industries are going through a rough patch..”

“While Thane city has 3 1/ 2 hours of load-shedding, Mumbra and Kalwa have five to seven hours of cuts,” said a MSEDCL officer, requesting anonymity.