Thousands of residents living along the northern tip of Ghodbunder Highway and Panchpakhadi endured power cuts lasting between 4 and 11 hours on Friday, as the sweltering summer heat made conditions unbearable. The disruptions were caused by damage to underground power lines at two separate locations.
Panchpakhadi Power Cut
In Panchpakhadi, the ordeal began around 5 am when a fault was reported in an underground cable, plunging the entire area into darkness. Officials from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) attributed the incident to a snag in machinery deployed for civic infrastructure work, which accidentally struck the cable. Further delays occurred as the utility waited for permissions from the municipal corporation to dig the affected road. Power was eventually restored by 4 pm, after 11 hours of disruption.
Residents expressed frustration over the prolonged outage. "The situation was unbearable, especially for the elderly and the ailing," one resident complained.
Ghodbunder Highway Disruption
Meanwhile, on Ghodbunder Highway, a municipal contractor laying water lines accidentally damaged a power line around 4 pm. This caused a blackout in areas beyond Kasarvadavali that lasted nearly five hours, with normalcy not yet restored by late Friday evening. Shiv Sena corporator Siddharth Ovalekar confirmed the incident, stating that the supply was cut at 4 pm and was still not operational. Authorities indicated that power would likely resume only late at night.
The back-to-back failures highlight vulnerabilities in Thane's power infrastructure, particularly during peak summer when demand for electricity is high. Residents are calling for better coordination between civic agencies and utility providers to prevent such incidents.
