Pune: Manjri Resident Battles MSEDCL Apathy Amid Power Outage
Pune: Manjri Resident Battles MSEDCL Apathy Amid Power Outage
Pune, June 16, 2025 – A resident from Manjri, Pune, has raised serious concerns over the alarming negligence and inefficiency displayed by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) after enduring a prolonged power outage and a harrowing experience to get basic service restored.
According to the resident, an electric failure was reported in the area, prompting a complaint to the MSEB. In response, a lineman visited the site and hastily concluded that the cable from the distribution point to the consumer’s meter was faulty. The issue, he said, required a specialized fault-finding vehicle from MSEB.
After several calls and persistent follow-ups, the fault-finding vehicle finally arrived. However, the designated line incharge was nowhere to be found. The resident and accompanying personnel were forced to wait over 90 minutes. When a different lineman eventually showed up, he took one look at the distribution board and outright refused to inspect or work on it — and simply left.
Desperate, the resident once again contacted the local MSEDCL office. This time, the officials shockingly advised him to dig up the road to locate the underground fault — at his own risk. Requests for assistance from an MSEDCL technician or suggestions for expert agencies were coldly dismissed.
“I asked them who will take the risk to dig a live three-phase supply line — something that could endanger both lives and public property,” the resident shared. “Their response was chillingly indifferent: ‘We don’t care.’”
The resident, a self-declared law-abiding citizen, questioned the competence and accountability of the MSEDCL staff. “Are we, as paying consumers, supposed to put our lives in danger because of the system’s failure and lack of responsibility?” he asked.
The incident paints a grim picture of public service standards and highlights the urgent need for reforms in MSEDCL’s response mechanisms and customer support in Pune’s rapidly growing suburban zones like Manjri.
