a coup in online education; Cafes transform the workspace | Pune News

PUNE: Several professionals working from home have had to log on to their computers from cafes or coworking spaces, while students without electricity at home have struggled to take online classes due to the blackout current that began around 4 a.m. Wednesday and continued until noon in most areas of the city, and even beyond in the pockets.
Rakesh Kumar, an IT professional and resident of Aundh, said: “I worked in a quiet corner of a cafe in my area for the first half of my shift as I was constantly disconnecting from meetings while trying to use the cell phone Internet at home WiFi was not working at home as we don’t have backup power.

He said, “Around noon, my wife called and told me the power was back on. I went home and started working. But the power supply went out again after two hours and was only restored in the evening.
Nisha Monteiro, a teacher from Kondhwa and mother of two school children, said: “It was a trying day for the students. Not everyone has an inverter at home. As a result, many students did not have access to WiFi and could not attend online classes without issue. Mobile network connectivity was generally spotty. Students could not wake up to answer questions or access screens shared by their teachers. »
She said: “Many schools have adopted the multiple-choice question format on Google Forms for exams. Students using mobile internet found it difficult to save or submit their response forms online. Many schools, which held regular or practice exams on Wednesdays, had to extend the time given to children to write the papers due to the situation. »
Ujwal Makhija, a resident of Sinhagad Road, said, “Electricity was back in our area around 1 p.m. But the outage continued in neighboring areas. My son went to take lessons in a nearby area. But the power was restored in the professor’s house only in the evening.
Jayashree Venkatraman, Principal of the SNBP International School, said, “Most of the teachers are delivering lessons online from school, where we have a backup UPS. But the strength of the students in all classes was very low throughout the day. In view of this, teachers will revise lessons for students who missed Wednesday’s class. But there will be no additional lessons.
Water supply was a major problem in many housing companies. A member of the management committee of a housing company in Lullanagar said: “We could use our generator to pump water, but it’s an extra expense given the rising cost of fuel.
Rasta Peth resident Nithin P said, “Self-contained buildings don’t have generators. People in such buildings had no water until noon.
Voltage fluctuation was another concern in areas such as Bavdhan, Baner, Pashan, Bhosari and Vimannagar, where power was restored at different times.