Avtar Bhat
SRINAGAR, Sept 28: With various areas of Capital City Srinagar still submerged in water, the Power Development Department (PDD) is facing many hardships in restoring the power supply in these areas.
As maximum infrastructure including Grid Stations, Receiving stations, power transformers, electric poles and wires, were damaged in flash floods during the first week of this month, the higher ups in PDD are of the opinion that it will take over 20 days to restore the power supply in the affected areas of the City fully.
Though the PDD men and machinery is on the job and the Department has restored the power supply in some areas of the City, which was totally submerged in devastating flood waters on September 7 and 8, the power supply is yet to be restored in various parts of Srinagar city and its outskirts. The areas where the power supply is to be restored included Gogji Bagh, Raj Bagh, Jawahar Nagar, some parts of Bemina, Lasjan, Padshahi Bagh, Shivpora, Indira Nagar, Tengpora in Batmallo and Hari Singh High Street as the flood water has not been fully depleted from there so far.
According to sources restoration of power in the areas which are still under water can lead to any catastrophe and PDD authorities hesitate in taking any risk as there is every apprehension of short circuit. Sources said that power supply has been restored in the areas where from dewatering has been completed and which have become dry completely.
Sources said the Power Grid Corporation of India has fully backed the State at this hour of crisis and it has agreed to supply the high capacity power transformers to it. It has started shifting the transformers to the Valley from other States for immediate restoration of power supply in Srinagar City which was worst hit by floods, sources added.
Power Development Commissioner, Asgar Ali told Excelsior that over 600 transformers have been damaged by floods as they were completely submerged in water and 80 percent of them are from Kashmir Valley.
The State Government has made a requisition to Power Grid to supply new 600 transformers immediately and they have agreed to dispatch 400 to 600 transformers within 10 to 15 days, he said, adding the power supply will be fully restored in the Capital City of Srinagar only after these transformers reach State and they are installed in the respective areas.
He said so far 82 transformers have been received by the PDD from Power Grid, adding the entire infrastructure of the Department was damaged in floods and flood water and muck has seeped into the transformers resulting in their complete damage. Some of these transformers are not in a repairable position and they have to be replaced by new transformers, he added.
Mr Ali said that Bemina Grid Station which was also damaged due to floods has been restored and 27 mva Bemina Receiving Station has also been made operational. With its restoration most probably the power in various parts of the Bemina area will also be restored by tomorrow, he added.
He said Shopian Grid Station and 132 kv Shopian Lassipora HT Line has also been restored over six days back. Besides, the restoration work of 11 kv Feeder of Badami Bagh Receiving Station which has also been damaged in flash floods is on, he added.
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