Gond Basti Locals Bake As Discom Plugs Power Theft

Nagpur: As temperatures hover around 45°C and the city battles an unforgiving summer, nearly 200 tin-sheet shanties in Siddheshwari Gond Basti at Hudkeshwar have spent the last several nights in darkness — not because of a technical fault, but due to a sweeping crackdown on illegal electricity hooking by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL). For years, residents of the settlement allegedly drew power by hooking wires onto low-tension overhead lines — a common but dangerous practice in many unauthorised slum pockets. Last week, MSEDCL replaced the old exposed lines with insulated aerial bundled (AB) cables, effectively snapping the basti's informal power lifeline overnight. What followed was a stark collision between legality and survival.Inside the densely packed settlement, the absence of electricity has quickly transformed daily life into a struggle. Ceiling fans have fallen silent in cramped metal-roof homes that trap heat. Mobile phones remain uncharged. Water pumps cannot run. Children and elderly residents are spending sleepless nights in suffocating conditions. But for MSEDCL officials, the action was long overdue."The basti itself is unauthorised and most residents were illegally hooking electricity from overhead lines. We repeatedly asked them to apply for legal connections, but no applications were received," a senior MSEDCL official told TOI. Officials said the exposed wires and excessive unauthorised load were also affecting nearby authorised consumers, causing frequent voltage fluctuations and outages in surrounding localities. The switch to AB cables, they said, was aimed at both reducing theft and preventing accidents. Social worker Khusal Dhak said the timing of the action during peak summer has intensified the suffering of residents already living in vulnerable conditions. "People are enduring unbearable heat without electricity. Children are falling sick due to dehydration and exhaustion. If the same action was taken in another season, the impact would not have been this severe," he said.Dhak also pointed out that many slum residents lack basic documents required to secure legal electricity connections, leaving them trapped between unauthorised survival and bureaucratic exclusion. He urged authorities to provide simplified procedures and affordable connections for economically weaker families. The episode has once again highlighted a recurring urban dilemma — how cities enforce legality in settlements that have existed informally for years, often without access to basic civic infrastructure. For now, in Siddheshwari Gond Basti, the debate over power theft has become secondary to a more immediate concern: surviving the summer without electricity.