2 days Ago
Pune: Senior officials from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd ( MSEDCL ) told TOI this week they're now monitoring garbage levels at several of their sites as part of efforts to prevent fires from damaging critical infrastructure. The officials said many MSEDCL staff, during maintenance visits, have spotted worrying levels of garbage dumping at or near substations and distribution pole (DP) boxes. "And many times, it was MSEDCL staff that cleaned out this trash," said Rajendra Pawar, chief engineer of Pune division.
"In cases where the garbage was just too much for our workers to handle, they informed the ward offices of municipalities," he said, while urging people to avoid throwing rubbish near such sensitive equipment. "Fresh garbage often tends to make its way to the same spot that was cleaned. It's a question of civic duties by residents of that area.
We have made multiple appeals," Pawar said. So far, the city has seen at least seven major fires caused by stubble or garbage burning this summer. Officials from PMC's solid waste management department said regular checks and garbage lifting will be carried out from spots that are close to critical MSEDCL infrastructure.
"Ward offices and local teams involved in garbage management will be asked to lift the garbage near power supply regularly," said Sandip Kadam, head of PMC's solid waste management department. He added that squads have also been taking action against people found burning trash in the open. "Residents can approach their ward offices to register complaints against garbage burning," Kadam said.
On Tuesday, around 2.30am, more than one lakh consumers lost electricity in Vishrantwadi, Dhanori and Moshi after eight MSEDCL lines were severely damaged by a trash fire along the Alandi-Kalas road. The garbage was dumped in a trench along the road, officials said, adding that repairs took a while because the fire broke out late in the night.
One official said power was restored to most of the affected customers by 5am, but nearly 27,000 people in Vishrantwadi and Dighi did not have electricity till noon. "Other than the cost of replacing damaged equipment, the overall loss of revenue for MSEDCL is huge. Loss of revenue for the state run company due to disrupted supply is around Rs 10 per unit," Pawar said.
There was another incident involving a trash fire that went on to impact supply in Sinhgad College and Ambegaon areas, damaging power lines at Navale substation. In Feb and March, power outages were seen three times in Hinjewadi and two times in Chakan after fires damaged transmission lines of Maharashtra State Transmission Company Ltd (MSETCL). Stubble burning caused four of those outages and one was due to environmental factors, officials said.
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