Power Outages Plague South Nagpur Amid Record Heatwave Residents of South Nagpur faced prolonged power outages for six hours on Saturday as temperatures soared to 44.2°C, exacerbating the challenges of an intense heatwave. The city’s south-west and south areas experienced frequent tripping and multiple short-duration power cuts, leaving households without electricity during peak afternoon hours. In Balaji Nagar, a section of South Nagpur, the outage lasted from around 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., forcing residents to endure stifling indoor conditions without fans or coolers. Vishu Misal, a resident of Manewada in South Nagpur, described the disruption as a major inconvenience. “On Saturday, the prolonged power cut disrupted our entire routine. My family and I couldn’t even carry out basic household chores like filling the water tank, as there was no electricity for hours,” he said. Another resident, Babulal Meshram, accused MSEDCL, the state electricity distribution company, of unannounced load shedding, noting that cuts occurred even late at night and during the day, making the extreme heat unbearable. MSEDCL officials attributed the outage in Balaji Nagar to ongoing infrastructure work, specifically the installation of an aerial bunched (AB) cable. They stated that the scheduled shutdown was necessary to address persistent low-voltage issues in the area during nighttime hours. However, residents argued that such maintenance should not result in extended power cuts during extreme weather conditions. “Consumers were informed in advance, and around 125 households were affected,” an official said, emphasizing that the cable laying was essential for improving reliability. The power crisis coincided with peak electricity demand, as soaring temperatures drove up the use of air conditioners, coolers, and other appliances.#balaji_nagar #civil_lines #manewada #south_nagpur #m_sedcl
