Electricity supply snapped in many Jammu areas
Over 250 poles, 50 transformers damaged
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, July 3: With the overnight strong wind-storm and heavy rain, the Power infrastructure suffered massive damage while electricity supply to many Jammu areas remained snapped for more than 18 to 20 hours since late last evening.
The wind storm and downpour also caused damage to the public property as several walls and houses in Jammu city were partially damaged due to heavy downpour throughout the last night while several trees and their branches were broken and fell on electric cables.
Several trees near Govt Hospital Gandhi Nagar and Shastri Nagar, near Ram Lila Ground caused damage to walls and electric cables and poles. The front wall of Gandhi Nagar Hospital just near the main gate was badly damaged. However, no one was injured or any casualty reported in these incidents. With this, the power supply to the entire Gandhi Nagar area, and many parts of Shastri Nagar and Nai Basti, was badly hit for more than 15 to 18 hours.
Two electric poles were damaged in Janipur area near the office of Deptt of Economics and Statistics, which snapped the power supply to entire Indira Colony, Excelsior Lane, Lakar Mandi, Bhawani Nagar, Janipur Colony , Shant Nagar, Naseeb Nagar, Pamposh Colony, Buta Nagar and Upper Ploura area. The power to these areas could be restored after 19-20 hours.
A big Transformer of 21 MVA capacity at Roop Nagar Power Station was damaged last night due to lightning and it snapped the power supply to many areas of Roop Nagar and Ban Talab. The power could not be restored even by tonight. A house at Partap Garh Mohalla ( Ward 15) of Old Jammu City and an old wall at Jullaka Mohalla collapsed last night. However, no loss of life or injury to any one was reported.
Excelsior office received several public calls regarding power failure in their respective localities since last night. In many areas, the PDD staff failed to restore power supply even after 18-20 hours. In many localities of Jammu west, the power could not be restored even by 7 pm this evening. In Lower Roop Nagar area the power had not been restored by even 8.30 pm tonight, the locals alleged. Not only in Jammu city, in many rural areas of Jammu as well, the power supply remained snapped till late this evening. In Jagti Township and Muthi Gaon, the power remained snapped till late this evening.
In many areas, low voltage and power fluctuation have caused damage to the electronic gadgets of the people. They held concerned PDD staff responsible for this fault. In Gandhi Nagar, Shastri Nagar and Trikuta Nagar, the power was restored after 12-14 hours. The water supply to these areas for the population of over one lakh has been badly hit.
With the power failure, the water supply to many areas of Jammu remained affected today. The public suffered badly for drinking water as the alternative water tanker supply could not be pressed into service for needy people. The water supply may remain affected on Sunday due to power failure.
The overnight rain brought big relief to the people as the temperature recorded sharp fall. For the last three days, the temperature in Jammu had shown rising trend. However, the fall in temperature has provided little relief from scorching heat.
Chief Engineer, Power Development Department/ JPDCL, A K Sachdeva when contacted said that the high speed wind and thunder-storm caused extensive damage to Power infrastructure in Jammu area last night. He said about 250 electric poles and nearly 50 electric transformers were damaged last night.
Sachdeva further disclosed that a big transformer at Roop Nagar Power Station in Jammu West was damaged and it snapped the power supply to major areas of Roopnagar and Bantalab. He disclosed that this transformer of 21 MVA capacity could not be repaired till late this evening and is expected to be restored by tomorrow.
Replying to a question, the Chief Engineer said out of the 50 damaged transformers, over 90 percent of them have been replaced by this evening while the remaining will be repaired/ replaced by tomorrow. He said additional labour was hired to initiate work on war- footing and the entire senior staff including he himself monitored restoration work since last night. He said no human loss or injury to any staff was reported but cables and poles have suffered massive damage due to wind and thunder-storm. Sachdeva said that the overall loss suffered by the department in terms of amount is being assessed by the concerned PDD Divisions.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
