Thousands of residents in central Pune faced a prolonged power outage on Thursday evening after underground electricity cables were accidentally damaged during drainage work undertaken by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).The disruption began around 4.15 pm when a JCB machine engaged in PMC excavation work snapped two 220 kV underground cables connecting the New Parvati substation to the Navi Peth 22/11 kV substation. (HT PHOTO)The disruption began around 4.15 pm when a JCB machine engaged in PMC excavation work snapped two 220 kV underground cables connecting the New Parvati substation to the Navi Peth 22/11 kV substation, officials of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) said.The damage forced the shutdown of all eight outgoing feeders from the Navi Peth substation, disrupting power supply in areas including the SP College locality, Shastri Road, Sadashiv Peth, Navi Peth and Sane Guruji Nagar.According to MSEDCL, electricity supply to nearly 180 transformers was affected, impacting around 6,500 consumers for more than four hours.Mahesh Awati, a resident of Sadashiv Peth, said the outage caused major inconvenience during evening peak hours. “There was complete darkness in many buildings, and people faced difficulties as lifts, water pumps and household appliances stopped working,” he said.Umesh Kavade, additional executive engineer of MSEDCL’s Peshwe Park subdivision, said repair teams were rushed to the spot immediately after the incident.“The underground cables were damaged during PMC drainage excavation work. Our teams carried out emergency cable-jointing and restoration work on priority. Power supply was restored in phases after the repairs were completed,” he said.