Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Angry residents of Pandharpur grieved that repeated power outages have caused extreme distress amongst them. They underlined that the electricity supply of Phulenagar was cut off around 2 am (on Wednesday) and was restored at 3.30 pm on Thursday. However, as soon as the power came back, a loud explosion was heard and the power went off again, leaving residents once more in darkness.
Due to the outage, household chores came to a standstill. Students, people working online, shopkeepers, as well as elderly and sick residents, all faced severe inconvenience. Many expressed anger at the negligence of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) engineers and field staff.
What’s even more alarming is that in several parts of the area, electrical wires were seen burnt due to short circuits. Some of these wires run dangerously close to rooftops, tin sheets, and iron staircases, creating a serious risk of electrocution. Some families even risked their safety to push these hazardous cables away from their homes using wooden sticks.
Residents have demanded that the MSEDCL immediately implement stable, safe, and permanent solutions so that the villagers do not have to stay in the dark for long hours. When asked about the situation, officials from MSEDCL stated that the power outage occurred due to a short circuit and that repair work is currently underway.
Former sarpanch Akhtar Shaikh and a resident Nisar Shaikh said the short-circuit locations must be repaired immediately. MSEDCL should replace the dangerous wires completely and raise them to a safe height. There are electrical wires running right in front of the houses in Phulenagar. There have been several short circuits and even fires because of them. The authorities must fix these wires immediately, they grieved.