The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) superintending engineer Rupesh Tembhurne on Saturday issued a suspension order against assistant engineer Rahul Ghodke, holding him responsible for a 12-hour power failure in several rural areas under his jurisdiction.
Ghodke, posted in rural division No. 2, was accused of negligence in restoring electricity supply and disobeying senior officials' orders. As per the suspension order, he failed to take corrective steps or even inform higher au-thorities during the prolonged outage. The power supply from the 33 KV Rahati feeder was cut off around 10.50 pm on July 30 and remained disconnected for the next 12 hours. Several villages, including Samsapur, Pimpari, Takali Kumbha-karna, Rahati and Pingali, were affected. Consumers in these areas faced severe in-convenience.
The order also states that Ghodke neither contacted his seniors nor made any attempt to communicate about the issue. In the same case, senior technician Rajesh Waghmare was also suspended for alleged involvement in the disconnection and his careless approach. Further inquiry is underway.