From keeping their devices fully charged, water bottles and buckets full and handy printouts of their notes, students at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) have come up with many ways to adjust to the frequent power cuts.
A 12 hour power cut had affected SPPU campus from late Tuesday night to Wednesday afternoon.
тАЬWhile the problem was resolved yesterday, the power cuts, especially in the past few months have become quite bothersome. This time on Tuesday night, it was particularly difficult for me as I could not even talk to my family. My phone battery was completely discharged and I could not get an update on my sisterтАЩs healthтАжI could only call them once power returned the next day,тАЭ said Samruddhi Dugad, a final year English student.
Shravani Mestry, another final-year English literature student, said students on campus have become more conscious. тАЬWe keep a reserve of sorts. The bottles of drinking water are kept filled as well as the buckets. Power banks and our phones are fully charged. In fact, many students also get the main notes printed so that they have something if they are unable to access online resources. It at least does not catch us completely off-guard if the power supply goes,тАЭ she said.
Mahesh Rahane, another student who resides in the hostel on campus, said, тАЬThe situation is not getting better. It makes studying difficult. In the evenings we had to use candles to study for internal exams. Not much seems to have been done to improve our stay in hostels despite regular communication. In fact, some have been thinking of moving out, looking for affordable places off-campus.тАЭ
Registrar Prafulla Pawar, who said the power cut on Tuesday night was a long one, added that such incidents are sporadic. тАЬSuch small faults can occur due to heavy rain. As for measures, one can only do so much. We will try to not let it happen again,тАЭ he said.
