Pune: Hundreds of families in Ravet spent over 48 hours without electricity after heavy rain damaged the power infrastructure, leaving them struggling without elevators, water pumps, and other essential services.The prolonged outage severely disrupted daily life. IT professionals working from home said they were forced to take leave or relocate to the homes of relatives and friends. Senior citizens, women, and children had to climb multiple flights of stairs as lifts remained non-functional in several high-rise buildings. Housing societies spent thousands of rupees on diesel to run generators for common amenities.As frustration mounted, hundreds of residents gathered outside the MSEDCL office in Ravet on Tuesday to protest the delay in restoring power. They alleged that the electricity supply had not been restored in several societies despite repeated complaints.A resident of Nano Homes housing society said they spent nearly Rs 80,000 on diesel to operate generators for common amenities after remaining without power for more than 48 hours. Residents of Casa Grande housing society reported that electricity was not restored even after 58 hours, forcing them to climb to the 17th floor as lifts remained out of service.Hitesh, a resident of Bhondave Empire housing society on MIDC Water Pipeline Road in Ravet, said, “There was no power for about 20 hours in the society’s 114 flats. We exhausted more than 200 litres of diesel in 20 hours just to run generators. The issue of frequent power cuts has been raised with the MLA, the MP, and local leaders over the past year, but in vain.”Hitesh was not alone; several others spent days without power. Prashant Kshirsagar, a resident of DK Elegance housing society, said, “We spent more than 48 hours without electricity. There are 82 flats across four wings in our society. A 90-year-old resident faced health complications, and we had to carry him down the stairs because the elevators remained non-operational in the absence of power.”Sanjit Sukhatankar, a resident of Casa Grande housing society, said power had still not been restored after 57 hours. “Common amenities were operated using generators; however, the lifts were not. Our building has 16 floors. I have had heart surgery and live on the 14th floor. You can well gauge my ordeal,” he said. He added that because water could not be pumped up, tankers had to be called to meet the residents’ needs.Rahul Gangurde, a resident of Silver Palm Grove housing society, claimed that 333 flats had been without power for over 48 hours since Monday morning. “We had to call a tanker for water. The internet stopped functioning. Many IT professionals had to take leave, while a few worked from their relatives’ or friends’ places,” he said.Some residents questioned the hefty real estate prices in areas lacking proper power infrastructure. “Whenever there is a prolonged power cut, I feel as though I am staying in a remote village. I spent a hefty sum to buy a 2BHK flat, and now I feel cheated,” said a resident of Nano Homes housing society.
