Tauktae aftermath exposes shortcomings: Cyclone leaves ugly power tussle in wake

Demand has grown louder for underground cabling of electricity wires in Palghar district predominantly in the VasaiNalasoparaVirar area after Cyclone Tauktae knocked down several electric poles leaving thousands of households without power for four days Locals dependent on electricity to keep their water supply running and employees working from home suffered the mostAn electric pole fell on the roof of a house after being knocked down by the cycloneThe power supply was disconnected on May 16 after the cyclone warning An official from Kalyan Zone of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited MSEDCL told midday that the power infrastructure in Vasai taluka was hit badly affecting 241 lakh consumersOne of the worst affected villages in Vasai was Maliwadi where former corporator Prachi Collaco claimed to have helped villagers by arranging generators to stock up water Locals however accused her of lying triggering a minor brawl during middayrsquos onground visit Water pipeline has not reached many villages in Vasai where locals pump up water from wells to their overhead tanksAlso Read Mumbai can soon be in eye of the storm and any safety plan might be inadequateldquoShe Collaco is lyingrdquo yelled Sadhna Drsquosilva a local ldquoWe on our own rented a generator for Rs 3000 per hour Collaco has done nothing for this village We remained in the dark for four days after the cyclone hit Every monsoon we face power cut and waterlogging issuesrdquolsquoA loss of Rs 25 lakhrsquoIqbal Hudda the owner of DNA Infotel Pvt Ltd the largest supplier of WiFi connection to VasaiVirar area told midday that his business incurred a loss of Rs 25 lakh ldquoAfter the cyclone snapped internet services we ran generators for two days to keep our control room activerdquo He said WiFi connection to 90 per cent of his customers have been restored Hudda said the cycloneprone area needs ldquounderground electricity cabling to avert such a crisis in the futurerdquoAn electric pole rests dangerously on overhead wires in a residential areaDominica Dabre principal of Sacred Heart school at Byculla said she did not have water to clean the house after the death of his brother due to Covid19 ldquoSuch was our plightrdquo she said adding that ldquoat least 75 per cent of the VasaiVirar residents are currently working from homerdquoBhavika Vaze of Bolinj Virar who is a senior executive at a private bank in Borivli could not work an entire dayVirar resident Ajay Belchada a specialist with a USbased bank had to hire a cab to his inlaws in Kalina to work ldquoThe power went off on Monday morning but I managed with the inverter and mobile phone hotspot I took a leave on Tuesday but had to resume work the next day so I went to Kalina I came home on Saturday evening but the power is fluctuatingrdquo he told middayHis colleague Rubina Roderigues who lives in Vasai said she could not inform her office as there was no cellular network She resumed work on Wednesday once the WiFi connection was restored but electricity fluctuates a lotRestaurant owners were also hit ldquoI have incurred a loss of about R1 lakh as the refrigerator was shut for four days due to which ice cream fish mutton chicken vegetables and other items rotted Many like me have incurred heavy to very heavy lossesrdquo said Avinash Kuse who runs Samadhan hotel in VasailsquoElectric poles decay fastrsquoUnderlining the importance of underground cabling former MLA and Vasai resident Vivek Pandit said ldquoThe humidity and salinity are high in VasaiVirar area as it is located near the sea coast So the metal electric poles are not durable as these easily rust and decay fast Also there are a lot of big trees that fall on overhead wirings during a cyclonerdquoA resident had to use a water pump for his daily needsldquoWhen I was MLA in 201213 I had suggested underground cabling but nothing was ever donerdquo Pandit saidManoj Barot a local BJP leader from VasaiVirar said power supply was disrupted for four days during monsoon in 2018 as well ldquoThree years later we are stuck in the same situationrdquo Who is responsible for this power crisis The people of VasaiVirar chose three MPs four mayors four deputy mayors and 106 corporators but we continue to sufferrdquo Barot added ldquoI would request the Mahavitaran and the state government to urgently pass a proposal for underground electricity cabling in Vasai Virar areardquoA senior MSEDCL employee who was seen working to restore power supply told midday that the local residents often vent their anger at the technicians ldquoWhat is our fault if electric poles collapse because of the cyclone We usually immediately restore power supply But when workload is high restoration takes timerdquo the official saidA senior MSEDCL official told midday ldquoA huge fund is required for underground electricity wiring This can only be possible when it is done under certain schemes approved by either the state government or the CentrerdquoTwo deaths in VasaiA 36yearold technician Manohar Shivaji Pawar restoring power in Vasai fell off a pole and died on May 18 A sevenyearold tribal child died on Saturday evening Mayur Padekar had gone out to play when he was electrocuted in Vasai West where mangled wires and fallen electric poles hadnrsquot been cleared yet7537Proportion of VasaiVirar residents working from home currentlySevenNo of times underground cabling is costlier than overhead wires