Callous development work has put Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) in a spot. During ongoing work, the underground power cable got damaged due to which charging of electric buses at Wathoda Depot was disrupted on Tuesday. The incident occurred at around 11 am when the 132 KV incoming power cable was damaged during ongoing work at Nandigram Project of NMC, adjoining Wathoda Depot. The damage caused cascading effect prompting NMC officials to divert the buses from Wathoda to other depots in the city. “Due to failure of power supply to the charging station, NMC quickly shifted the buses to other depots,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner Milind Meshram.

 

The buses were diverted for charging to Mor Bhavan, Koradi and Khapri Depots to ensure that Aapli Bus operations are not disrupted. Due to diversion of buses, Mor Bhavan and other Depots were overcrowded, with dozens of e-buses queued up for hours, awaiting plug in for charging. The direct impact was felt by commuters, who were forced to wait beyond their regular timings for buses at Mor Bhavan and other depots. The situation was acute at Mor Bhavan depot, where 78 buses from Wathoda arrived for charging in addition to the depot’s own fleet. Controller Chandrakant Gedam said, “The situation is under control. Total 78 buses from Wathoda have arrived at Mor Bhavan depot.

 

We have six charging points and at a time we charge 12 buses. We give priority to regular college and company route buses getting them on route first, then we charge other buses on regular basis. We have 44 Mor Bhavan buses and 78 Wathoda depot buses for charging here,” Gedam added. Cable restoration work is going on and power supply is likely to be restored by night. Officials said normal charging at Wathoda is expected to resume by midnight.