India, June 14 -- Residents of Katraj are reeling under frequent and prolonged power cuts that have disrupted daily life, triggered internet failures, and forced housing societies to rely heavily on diesel generators, increasing costs and pollution.

The outages-occurring several times a day and often lasting hours-have particularly affected school and college students, working professionals, the elderly, and patients dependent on electrical medical equipment. Residents have blamed the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) for poor maintenance and failure to upgrade infrastructure despite the area's rapid urban growth.

"It's become impossible to work from home. There's no internet, no fan, and devices keep s...