Pune: Residents of Gharpure Colony have been facing frequent and prolonged power outages since the Hinjewadi–Shivajinagar Metro Line 3 work began three years ago. The most recent outage, which started around midnight last Friday, continued for nearly 18 hours, causing hundreds of residents — many of them elderly — to suffer. The colony in Shivajinagar consists of 14 buildings and approximately 250 consumers. According to residents, over 50% of the population comprises senior citizens. Lack of electricity halts elevators and water pumps, making daily life nearly impossible for the elderly. Anuradha Sahasrabudhe, executive director of the NGO Dnyana Devi and a resident of the area, highlighted the frequency of the problem. “This has happened at least three times in the last two weeks. Metro Line 3 digging often leads to snapping of cables, leaving us in the dark. My mother is 92, and in my building, 70% of the residents are seniors who live alone. Without lifts or water, daily life is a struggle. If someone needs emergency hospitalisation, how will they climb down the stairs?” Sahasrabudhe said. MSEDCL officials stated that a feeder cable supplying three main transformers was damaged during Metro work, affecting Hardikar Hospital, the Akashwani office, and local residents. Manoj Chanchlani, a resident for over 50 years, said the situation has deteriorated significantly. “Metro work happens mostly at night. When cables snap, they don’t inform MSEDCL; it’s up to the residents to complain. Usually, MSEDCL starts repair work the following morning,” Chanchlani said. He recalled a recent incident when he paid labourers out of his own pocket to dig and expose the damaged cable, so MSEDCL engineers could begin repairs immediately. A senior MSEDCL official expressed frustration over the lack of coordination. “We have requested Metro officials to at least inform us when a cable is damaged so we can act immediately. Recently, they damaged a cable and buried it, and we spent hours just locating the fault. The process is entirely manual — our staffers have to check the line metre by metre. Traffic on busy roads further delays our work. Once the fault is found, it takes another three to four hours to repair.” While MSEDCL confirmed that the main cable has since been repaired and power restored, a request for comment from Metro officials went unanswered.
