Frequent power outages hit Pimpri Chinchwad, MSEDCL officials blame rain & cable damage during Metro works

Pune: Large parts of Pimpri Chinchwad have been grappling with a power crisis over the past few days, with repeated outages fraying nerves. Anger is simmering in areas like as Akurdi, Nigdi, Pradhikaran and Wakad, where residents say the constant power cuts are disrupting daily life.For many, the outages have been long, sudden and unforgiving. Pramod Kale, a resident of Sector 24 in Pradhikaran, said the situation had deteriorated sharply over the past week. "Earlier this week, electricity went off at night and came back only the next afternoon. With soaring temperatures, living without power is unbearable," he said.The distress is echoed across the neighbourhood. Sheetal More, who lives nearby, said prolonged blackouts had become a daily ordeal. "Brief cuts are understandable, but now power is gone for hours at a stretch. Two days ago, it went off around 2am and returned only the next afternoon. It honestly feels like we are living in a rural area, not a city," she said.In Walhekarwadi, the residents said the pattern was slightly different but no less troubling. Manish Chugh said, "Earlier, power cuts were occasional. Now they happen regularly, and no one tells us why," he said.Adding to the confusion is the absence of any official communication. Several residents alleged that although no announcement had been made, the erratic supply felt uncannily like load shedding by the power utility.Wakad resident Kiran Vadgama said frequent outages were reported, especially in housing societies around Chaudhary Park, last week. "Aging underground power cables in Wakad and Pimple Saudagar are a longstanding problem. Fault detection takes time and repairs drag on. Replacing these old underground lines is the only permanent solution, but that has been pending for years," he said, adding that the matter was flagged around four years ago, when replacing the underground power infrastructure was estimated at Rs 180 crore. "The proposal never moved forward," he said.Another Wakad resident said intermittent power failures lasting two to three hours were hitting the area consistently over the last two to three weeks. "We have complained to local corporators, who promised to raise the issue with the concerned authorities," he said.Officials from the Bhosari and Pimpri divisions of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), however, denied claims of widespread or recurring outages. They attributed recent disruptions to rain-related faults and infrastructure damage. "In Nigdi, Akurdi and Pradhikaran, power cables were damaged during ongoing Metro works earlier this week. This affected two substations and resulted in prolonged outages. There has been no intentional load shedding," an official said.