Rival Protests By Pangri, Talegaon Villagers Halt Traffic On Parli-Beed Road

Beed: A bitter dispute between two neighbouring villages over electricity supply brought vehicular traffic to a grinding halt on the Parli Vaijnath-Beed Road at Pangri and Talegaon in Parli Vaijnath tehsil on Monday morning, after residents of both villages staged separate road blockades (rasta roko).

The dispute centres on the 33 kV sub-station located at Pangri, from which Talegaon receives electricity through a feeder. Talegaon residents alleged that unidentified persons severed the feeder wires and knocked down electric poles on Sunday morning, deliberately plunging the village into darkness for the past two days. The prolonged outage has also triggered an acute water crisis for standing crops.

Infuriated by the disruption, Talegaon villagers staged a sit-in demonstration on the highway from 9am to 12.30pm, blocking traffic for three and a half hours. The Talegaon sarpanch alleged that some Pangri residents had deliberately sabotaged the feeder to divert electricity to agricultural fields in Pangri. Formal complaints have been submitted to the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) and the Parli Rural Police Station.

Meanwhile, Pangri villagers staged their own highway blockade from 10.30am to 12.45pm. They claimed that the 33 kV sub-station at Pangri had been completely non-operational since 11am on September 13, cutting off electricity to Pangri and adjoining hamlets during the ongoing Ganeshotsav festival. Alleging deliberate sabotage of the main 33 kV transmission line, Pangri residents took to the streets and demanded immediate criminal action against those responsible.

The two protests left hundreds of vehicles stranded on the highway before local authorities intervened and restored traffic movement.