Power crisis hits Kishtwar, 132-kV line still not restored

Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 20

For the past 14 days, Kishtwar district has been without power after snowfall damaged the 132-kV transmission line to the district.

The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has only been able to restore the transmission line up to Doda but Kishtwar continues to reel under darkness.

The slight relief has, however, come from the restoration of the 33-kV line from Thathri to Kishtwar on February 17 night. It supplies electricity to essential services such as district hospital and other important installations in the district.

“The NHPC infrastructure has suffered a huge damage to its towers between Doda and Thathri. Seven towers have been badly damaged. We are not in a position to restore this line anytime soon, so we have requested the power development department to allow us to use their incomplete 132-kV transmission line in the area,” said Gopi Chandra Sinha, deputy general manager (transmission), NHPC.

Sinha said the power department towers were without insulators and connectors so the NHPC was on the job to make them functional. “We are hopeful of restoring the power supply fully to Kishtwar district in the first week of March,” the NHPC official said.

On February 7, a few inches of snow had damaged nine towers of the NHPC’s 132-kV transmission line from Batote to Kishtwar.

While the power supply was restored up to Doda on February 13, the Thathri to Kishtwar stretch was made functional by February 17.