Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking on Tuesday approved a ₹20-crore action plan to prevent power outages and restore supply to Girgaum and neighbouring areas in south Mumbai, which have been reeling under prolonged power cuts for the past several days.BEST officials told HT that since the suspect cables were located up to 15 feet beneath the railway tracks, the only way to examine them was by pulling them out (HT PHOTO)The action plan was approved by the BEST committee – comprising elected members – after the BJP threatened to walk out of Tuesday’s meeting. It covers five crucial points, including recruitment of field staff, deployment of additional machines and workers, and establishment of a new fault control centre.The development came a day after angry residents stormed the Pathakwadi BEST centre on Monday, to protest against a nearly 12-hour power cut on Sunday in Girgaum, Bhuleshwar, Opera House, Thakurdwar, Kalbadevi and neighbouring localities owing to faults in the BEST’s underground cable network.“While residents are frustrated by recent frequent power outages, Sunday was certainly a black day for the undertaking owing to the prolonged power cut,” said Akash Purohit, BJP corporator and BEST committee member from Girgaum and neighbouring areas.Sunil Ganacharya, another BJP leader and BEST committee member, alleged that there was no communication from the BEST administration regarding Sunday’s outage, and officials remained inaccessible through the day while residents kept calling them desperately.“Why can the BEST not set up a system to intimate consumers, like cable operators and wifi providers,” Ganacharya said.When these issues came up during Tuesday’s BEST committee meeting, the BEST administration outlined a ₹20-crore emergency action plan, which was subsequently approved by the committee.Under the plan, 690 field workers will be recruited to accelerate cable fault detection and repair work, while 127 drivers and 100 mechanics from the undertaking’s traffic division will be deployed temporarily to assist with resolving power supply complaints. The undertaking will also hire 350 diesel generator sets and aerial lifts along with trained crew to ensure quicker restoration of electricity during major breakdowns, besides setting up an additional fault control centre in Tardeo.“We have already deployed 80 newly recruited engineers specifically to Girgaum and surrounding localities, which saw two major faults over the past few days,” said a senior BEST official. “Going forward, we will also deploy a special repair vehicle for this area.”The undertaking has directed officials to undertake repairs of critical cable faults on war footing to minimise disruptions and improve supply reliability, the official said.As reported by HT on Tuesday, BEST officials suspect a fault in the cables beneath the railway tracks between Marine Lines and Grant Road may have triggered the latest round of power outages in Girgaum and neighbouring localities. Most cables in the area were laid in 1985-90, and are under severe stress due to increased power consumption amid the intense summer this year.BEST officials told HT that since the suspect cables were located up to 15 feet beneath the railway tracks, the only way to examine them was by pulling them out, which required permissions from the railways. “These cables run 3-7 km in different directions and we are now pulling them out from beneath the rail lines to test them,” said an engineer.Nitin Nandgaonkar, BEST committee member from the Shiv Sena (UBT) said the problem was no longer limited to electricity.“When power goes off for hours, water supply is also affected, creating difficulties for residents. It certainly looks like a ploy to promote private power distributors,” Nandgaonkar said.