Pune: Several housing societies in Handewadi are facing frequent power interruptions due to road-widening work being carried out on the Hadapsar stretch of the palkhi route leading to Dive Ghat. Residents had staged a protest in May against the recurring outages, citing inadequate power infrastructure in the area.
Officials of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is executing the road-widening project, has dug up large stretches of the road without making proper arrangements to shift underground power cables.
“The NHAI is required to dig trenches and shift the cables before undertaking road excavation. Since it has failed to do so, the cables remain exposed and are frequently damaged. We have written two letters to the NHAI and also held meetings over the past month, urging it to complete the trenching work and shift the cables,” said Dnyandeo Padalkar, superintendent engineer, MSEDCL.
The power utility officials said if the work remains incomplete after the onset of the monsoon, the cables are likely to suffer further damage. These cables supply electricity to the Handewadi area through the Phursungi substation. NHAI officials did not comment on the issue till the time of going to press.
Nearly 6,000 flats across 18 residential societies in the area are affected by frequent power cuts. Residents said a key issue is that a portion of Handewadi falls under MSEDCL’s urban division, while the remaining area is covered by the rural division.
Following the protests in May, MSEDCL presented a detailed plan to strengthen power infrastructure in the urban division. Under the plan, the utility has agreed to provide a new power supply line from the high-voltage station at Punyadham and establish a back-feed facility for the entire Undri and Autadewadi-Handewadi area. Work on these projects is currently underway.
“Similarly, new infrastructure development is planned to address the low-voltage power supply issue in the Arnav Park area. MSEDCL has sent an estimate of Rs 41 lakh for approval,” said Ganga Village resident Ashish Ingale, a consumer from the urban division.
Issues faced by residents in the rural division, however, remain unresolved. Multiple meetings held last week between MSEDCL officials and residents reportedly resulted in heated exchanges and ended in a deadlock.
“The resolution for the three societies falling under the rural division is yet to come,” said Pranay Patil, chairman of Fortune Siddipriya Society.
“Frequent power interruptions and voltage fluctuations have led to an increase in lift breakdowns, resulting in residents getting trapped inside lifts. This has raised serious safety concerns and created an atmosphere of anxiety among residents,” said Rohan Jatkar, a resident of the area.
