08 April,2011 06:38 AM IST | | Parth Satam
The entire city yesterday experienced a total blackout as MSEDCL carried out maintenance work in various areas.
Chief Engineer Sidhharth Nagtilak admitted that the entire city was without electricity, saying important maintenance work was supposed to be finished before monsoon so that consumers do not face problems later. "Even major works will be completed in one go. The usual power outage during heavy rainfall can be avoided if these works are completed now," said Nagtilak.
But many Puneites were angry that the outage occurred in the middle of summer, when the city experiences blistering heat and people are forced to use ceiling fans and air conditioners.
The maintenance works include repairing old lines and replacing old machinery under the INFRA 2 project. An MSEDCL official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Thursdays are usually 'staggering days', when electricity in some parts is disconnected for maintenance work. But what MSEDCL officials are unable to explain is why the entire city faced the outage. Work was scheduled on the Mundhwa power sub-station, which also has power lines supplying electricity to Camp and Bundgarden. Despite repeated attempts, PRO Chandrakant Gurav remained unavailable for comment.
