Pune: Heavy Rains Trigger Widespread Power Outages Across IT Hub, Disrupt Work And Daily Life
· Free Press Journal
Pune: Continuous rainfall over the past few days has caused widespread power outages across several parts of Pune, including Hinjewadi IT Park, Wakad and Balewadi. The disruption affected thousands of residents and created major problems for IT employees working from home.
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Heavy rain led to flooding in several areas, forcing the electricity distribution company, Mahavitaran, to shut down power supply as a safety measure. Once the rain reduced, restoration work began. However, water had entered parts of the power system, causing technical faults and delaying repairs. While repair teams have been working continuously, power supply has not yet been fully restored in all affected areas.
Around 70,000 electricity consumers were impacted in Ravet, Punawale, Kiwale, Mamurdi, Bijli Nagar, Mukai Chowk, Adarsh Nagar, parts of Dehu Road, Sai Nagar, Akurdi and Nigdi. In Hinjewadi Phase I, residents of Sakhre Vasti and Pandav Nagar also faced prolonged outages. Wakad alone saw nearly 40,000 consumers without electricity for almost two days, although power has now been restored in many parts of the area.
Pune VIDEO: Residents Block Pimpri-Chinchwad's Spine Road After Dirty Water Enters Drinking Water Tanks In Chikhali GharkulThe power cuts also disrupted water supply in several housing societies as water pumps stopped functioning. Mobile network services were affected, making it difficult for people to make phone calls. The situation was especially challenging for senior citizens, patients, persons with disabilities, women and children, as lifts remained out of service for long hours.
The outage also hit the work-from-home routine of many IT professionals. Although several companies allowed employees to work remotely due to the weather, many could not continue due to a lack of electricity. An IT employee said that not everyone has access to an inverter, and even those who do can only use it for a few hours before it runs out of backup.
The Forum for IT Employees has raised the issue with Maharashtra Minister of State for Energy, Meghna Sakore-Bordikar. The organisation said that some areas had remained without power for more than 72 hours, affecting lakhs of people and disrupting daily life. It also claimed that the lack of regular updates from Mahavitaran had created confusion among residents, with some families even considering temporary relocation.
Forum secretary Prashant Pandit urged Mahavitaran to restore electricity at the earliest and provide regular updates to the public. He also called for immediate arrangements to ensure access to drinking water, healthcare and other essential services until the situation returns to normal.