Fault in cable plunges parts of SoBo into darkness for 15 hours

MUMBAI: A cable fault led to a power outage of more than 15 hours in parts of south Mumbai in the C Ward on Saturday. The power supply went off at 3am in areas like Girgaum, Princess Street and Chandanwadi and was restored only around 7pm.
Consumer activist Jehangir Gai, a resident Wadia building near Princess street, said, “I complained around 7am but power was restored only around 6.45pm.I am told that there was a problem with the cable and that the restoration is a temporary arrangement as the exact spot of fault has not yet been identified. The fault will be fixed on Monday or Tuesday.”
Gai said that he had to get in touch with top officials, including the general manager of the BEST, to ensure that power supply was restored. He added that some officials were not even aware that residents are without power for so long.
Gai said that the BEST should have a mechanism to inform residents through social media or text messages about power supply failure and how long it would last. It is surprising that the BEST took so long to restore the power supply.”
Girgaum resident Chetan Puranik said, “Power supply went off at 3am in my building but at all flats, except mine, it was restored by 1pm. We had to call the electrician, who said there was nothing wrong with our connection and the fault was with the BEST.”
The outage also meant no water for many residents. “We couldn’ t switch on the pump to transfer water to overhead tanks. In many highrises, elevators were not working, forcing senior citizens and those with health issues to stay indoors, ” Puranik added.
Chandanwadi resident Ramesh Shah said, “With so many reports about malaria and dengue cases, we were scared as there was no way to ward off mosquitoes in the absence of power supply.”
A BEST spokesperson said, “There was power supply problem in many areas due to incessant rains. In C Ward, there was a major cable fault because of which it took time to get the supply restored.”