Pune: Power outage in 30 villages of Velhe for three days

PUNE: At least 30 villages, including some in remote areas of Velhe tehsil, have been suffering from power outage for the last 72 hours after heavy rain.
Residents claimed their life had been disturbed badly. Most of them had to fetch drinking water from a few kilometres away as they could not operate their pumps.
Villages surrounding Rajgad fort - Chirmodi, Dadwadi, Gunjawane, Vajeghar, Bhosalewadi, Paal, Charatwadi, Pimpri - have not got power for the last four days. Sarpanch Goraksh Shirke of Paal village, said, "Villagers had to walk kilometres in heavy rainfall to fetch drinking water."
Vikas Nalawade, a resident of Vajeghar village, said, "At some hamlets, rainwater has entered wells from where villagers fetch water for drinking. Since they had no option, they had to drink that water only."
Ramesh Shinde, the sarpanch of Kelad, one of the remotest villages in the district, said, "At least four to five hamlets in the village are out of contact as residents could not charge their cellphones. We had to walk in heavy rain to get to know their situation. As there is heavy rainfall, we need to provide medical care to senior citizens there."
The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Corporation Limited (MSEDCL) officials said they could not restore power as they were unable to repair the electric supply line because of continuous rainfall. The supply line poles have toppled at several locations.
Navnath Ghatule, the executive engineer of MSEDCL for Velhe tehsil, acknowledged the issue and claimed that their staffers had been working on a "war footing" for the last two days to restore the power supply to the affected villages.