Major electricity disruption in Wanowrie & Velhe; supply restored after long

Gusty winds and heavy rainfall, especially in the eastern areas of Pune, disrupted power supply to the extent that at least 30 villages in Velhe tehsil had no electricity for over 24 hours while it took over 12 hours to restore power supply in Wanowrie. Repairs and restoration of power supply continued well into Tuesday, May 21.

In Wanowrie, the power supply was severely damaged due to strong winds on May 20. Additional executive engineer Bhujbal said, “Our staff received so many complaints. However, they worked efficiently and effectively to restore electricity. But as the damage was huge, it took longer to restore electricity. By May 21 morning, we were able to restore electricity in almost all areas of Wanowrie.”

For the last three to four days, there has been continuous rainfall accompanied by strong winds in the Nasrapur-Pabe area due to which at least 14 electric poles have fallen while others have tilted, causing disruption in electricity supply. “It took us more than 24 hours to restore the power supply in this area. Simultaneously, we have also been working on annual maintenance work to prevent power supply disruption in the coming monsoon season,” said Navnath Ghatole, deputy executive engineer, MSEDCL.

The unseasonal rain also caused several incidents of treefall across the city. The fire brigade recorded at least 70 incidents of treefall on May 20. In one of the instances in which a tree fell on a car near Empress Garden, a man was injured but rescued by the fire brigade staff. There were several incidents in the Ramtekdi area in Hadapsar, where boundary walls and sheds were damaged due to instances of treefall. Citizens from this area have been calling the municipal ward office for help but there was no help received till late in the afternoon on May 21.