People gather after a tree fell following heavy rain and gusty winds in Hubballi on Monday evening.
| Photo Credit: PTI
After a downpour with gusty winds created havoc in Hubballi on Monday evening, several localities in Hubballi went without power supply for the second day in succession, with HESCOM authorities coming under severe criticism for failure to address the issue.
What has angered the people most is the fact that helplines are continuously engaged and even the local officials have gone incommunicado.
Meanwhile, even on the second day after Monday’s rain havoc, the broken branches of trees remained scattered on roads in various localities and the municipal authorities have not yet bothered to clear them.
The downpour and strong winds have exposed the unpreparedness of the authorities for facing the monsoon and consequently, several localities remained in darkness for the second day in succession.
Several major residential localities, including various localities on either side of Gokul Road, did not have power supply for the second day.
The areas affected included Green Garden, Rajdhani Colony, Shivapur Colony, Manjunath Nagar, Basaveshwar Nagar, Anand Nagar, Vidyanagar, Lohia Nagar, Manjunath Nagar, Mayur Nagar, Surabhi Colony, RN Shetty Road, ART Nagar and Morarji Nagar.
Water tanks remained empty as electricity pumps stopped functioning and the scheduled water supply in the 24 x 7 supply network areas also did not happen because of the power shutdown.
Families struggled without drinking water. Elderly residents and children were forced to endure humid nights without fans or cooling systems. Mobile phones and laptops ran out of charge, cutting off communication and work. A few then visited their relatives and friends in localities where power supply was restored on Tuesday.
Prolonged power outage also affected several businesses especially those selling perishable goods like milk, paneer and other such items.
Residents ringing up HESCOM helplines had to wait for several minutes only to hear a recorded voice saying that “their call is most valuable to them”.
Those who managed to connect to the operators were given a ready answer that the staff is working on it and they did not know when power supply will be restored.
According to a rough estimate, around 30 localities in the city lost power supply after the downpour. Although the field staff reportedly worked continuously through the night, with repair teams operating until early morning hours, power supply is unlikely to be restored till Wednesday afternoon.
Published – May 19, 2026 08:56 pm IST
