MUMBAI: Residents of Dadar Parsi Colony and parts of Kings Circle faced a major power disruption that lasted for nearly eight hours overnight, triggering fresh concerns over recurring electricity outages in the central Mumbai neighbourhoods.According to residents, electricity supply on at least two roads in Dadar Parsi Colony was disrupted for around seven-and-a-half hours on Wednesday night and continued to fluctuate on Thursday morning, with repeated tripping and restoration of power.The latest outage has revived long-standing complaints about frequent power failures in the area, an issue that local residents say has persisted despite repeated representations to the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking.“Seven-and-a-half hours without electricity at night is unacceptable. Even after supply was restored, power continued to go on and off through the morning,” said a resident of Dadar Parsi Colony.Residents said the outage affected daily routines, disrupted sleep and raised concerns about the reliability of electricity infrastructure in one of Mumbai’s oldest residential precincts.The disruption was not limited to Dadar Parsi Colony. Several buildings in nearby Kings Circle were also reportedly without power since the previous night. Residents said the prolonged outage had a cascading impact on water supply, as electric pumps could not fill overhead water tanks.“Many buildings do not have water because the overhead tanks could not be filled due to the power failure. Residents are anxious to know what caused the outage and when normalcy will be fully restored,” said a resident from Kings Circle.Local resident representatives said they have repeatedly raised the issue with BEST officials over the past year. According to residents, representatives of Dadar Parsi Colony, along with local corporator Amey Ghole, have held multiple meetings with BEST authorities regarding recurring power outages in the area.Tannaz Parakh, a resident associated with the issue, said resident groups had also submitted written complaints seeking a permanent solution.“Representatives from Dadar Parsi Colony, along with corporator Amey Ghole, have been meeting BEST officials over the last year regarding the constant power outages. A written complaint was also submitted by the residents’ association. While the meetings have been cordial, no clear explanation or long-term solution has been forthcoming from BEST,” she said.Residents said they are now seeking greater transparency from the utility provider regarding the reasons behind the repeated outages, the condition of the local distribution network and the steps being taken to prevent future disruptions.BEST’s response on the cause of the outage, the affected areas, restoration efforts and measures being undertaken to address recurring power failures was awaited at the time of going to press.In a major relief for residents of Girgaum and parts of Malabar Hill, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking on Thursday afternoon successfully laid brand-new 33KV cables, charging the feeders and taking them on load. The upgrade is expected to end nearly two months of recurring outages that had disrupted daily life in these areas.The work forms part of a Rs 20-crore action plan sanctioned by the department to prevent power failures, particularly ahead of the summer season. The project focuses on replacing ageing underground cables across the island city, which officials identified as the primary cause of repeated faults.According to BEST officials, the commissioning of the new high-capacity cables marks a significant step towards a more reliable and resilient distribution network. “We are now moving towards implementing permanent solutions to eliminate recurring outages across our system,” a senior official said.
