Power crisis grips Jammu, maximum areas plunge into darkness

Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, July 27: Maximum areas of Jammu are reeling under severe power and water crisis after Conductor was snapped at Power House Canal and a major fault took place in 132 Janipur -Keran Conductor coupled with snapping of electric poles and lines due to uprooting of trees and flash floods at various places today.
The power and water crisis has hit the normal life worst and people in various localities also resorted to protest demonstrations also. The office of Excelsior also received hundreds of calls from the anxious consumers for entire day enquiring when the power supply will be restored.
The power supply has affected almost the entire Jammu city and outskirts late last night after heavy rains lashed the area resulting into a major fault in Conductor, snapping of lines and damage to electric poles at various places.
According to PDD officials, some electric poles were uprooted at Muthi bridge and Gajansoo due to flash floods. Besides, the 11 kv line was also snapped supplying power to various areas onwards Paloura after a tree fell on the 11 kv line near Toph bridge.
A PDD spokesman said that there were multiple problems that led to power failure since late last night including the fault in Conductor, damage to transformers at various places, felling of trees due to heavy rain resulting into snapping of power supply lines and uprooting of electric poles etc.
Though the men and machinery of PDD were on the job from early in the morning, the fault has not been removed in various areas by late tonight.
When contacted Chief Engineer M&RE, Ashwani Gupta said that the power conductor was snapped at Canal Power House hitting the power supply in various areas of the City including Parade, Bakshi Nagar Hospital area, Talab Tillo, Paloura, Shakti Nagar, Rajpura, Canal, Muthi, Barnai, Patoli Brahmana and Domana.
He said flood water also entered the Gandhi Nagar Receiving Station causing a damage to it due to which power supply in the area was also affected. Besides various transformers in the area as well as other parts of the city were also damaged due to heavy rains, he added.
However the power supply was restored later in the areas of Parade, Janipur, Talab Tillo, Bakshi Nagar, Shakti Nagar, Roop Nagar, Durga Nagar, Bohri but it remained affected in the areas of Muthi, Barnai, Patoli, Dharmal, Gajansoo and various other localities as the snag at 33 kv line at Muthi could not be removed till late night hitting the power supply to the areas fed from Feeder Nos. 4 and 5.
Likewise the power supply could not be restored in Gajansoo and other border areas after the washing away of some poles due to flash floods in the area. However the field staff of the Department was on job trying to restore the power supply and they were expecting restoration of power in these localities by tonight.
The people in Barnai belt bore the brunt of power crisis where the water supply was already hit for over last fortnight due to the snag in motor. Though the Department restored the motor yesterday and people were eagerly waiting for restoration of water supply today but to their utter surprise the same could not be restored today also due to power failure deepening the crisis further in the area.

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