With the mercury rising as summer peaks, abrupt power cuts in central Mumbai areas such as Shivaji Park in Dadar and in the posh suburban locale of Four Bungalows in Andheri since Thursday morning have caused much discomfort among residents.
“At Shivaji Park, a power cut lasted for three hours on Thursday afternoon. The power cut in Dadar West was over four hours long, and there was no intimation before it and no support or communication afterwards. Despite calling the BEST continuously, there was no response,” Shivaji Park resident Pramod Zarekar said.
A group of women pedestrians try to keep cool in Khar on Thursday afternoon. PICS/SAYYED SAMEER ABEDI
“The Shivaji Park area is facing continuous power trips. BEST has been silent. Home appliances may be damaged. Lifts in societies are non-functional,” Rajeev Potnis, another resident, said.
Suburban swelter
Journalist Mohar Basu said, “Around 6.45 pm on Saturday, the lights went out. Residents were informed that a wire had burnt near the Four Bungalows market, triggering a massive power outage in the main market area. What followed was nothing short of a nightmare. From 6.45 pm (Saturday) until nearly 3.30 am on Sunday, there was no electricity. Elderly residents who had stepped out during the evening were forced to climb multiple flights of stairs in suffocating heat. We were frustrated, drenched in sweat, waiting for electricity to return.”
She added, “We thought the ordeal had finally ended once power was restored in the early hours of Sunday. But around 11 am, electricity was cut yet again for ‘pending restoration work’. Then, on Wednesday night, following brief power fluctuations, the lights went out around 10.30 pm. The outage stretched through the entire night. Power was restored after 2 am. Even after that, the disruption did not end. On Thursday morning, fresh restoration work began again at around 11 am, and went on till approximately 2 pm.”
A woman shields herself from the scorching heat in Dada
In less than a week, residents of the area, which includes a couple of buildings, have faced repeated blackouts and sleepless nights. For senior citizens and children, especially, the experience has been harrowing. “What should have been an isolated technical fault, which one understands, spilt over a few days,” she said.
Official Speak
Explaining about the Shivaji Park issue, BEST officials said they worked on the restoration of supply after they received complaints, as the load condition was critical following a fault in the 33kV feeder at Sitladevi receiving sub-station. Officials further explained that with Mumbai’s peak electricity demand crossing 4300MW, there has been mounting strain on the distribution network with feeder trips and cable faults, in addition to wear and tear.
3 hours
Time power supply to Shivaji Park was disrupted on Thursday
