Storm wreaks havoc; power outage throws life out of gear

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, May 11

Heavy rain and a thunderstorm late Friday night threw life out of gear in Sonepat and Panipat. Scores of trees were uprooted and power supply was disrupted as electricity poles and transformers got damaged. Due to the power outage, which lasted 8-10 hours in several places, the water supply was affected.

Storm claims Girl’s life in Sonepat village

A girl died in Shahzadpur village of Sonepat after a tin shed fell on her during the thunderstorm. The deceased was identified as Sandhya of Lakhimpur Khiri in Uttar Pradesh. Mithlesh, her relative, said they had come to work in a brick kiln in the village around seven months ago. The police handed over the body to her family after a post-mortem examination.

400 trees uprooted on Panipat-Gohana NH

• In Panipat district, about 1,500 trees were uprooted, of which 400 trees were uprooted on the Panipat-Gohana-Rohtak national highway alone, said Jaikishan, Range Forest Officer.
• Teams were pressed into service at night and it took a total of 12 hours for the restoration of traffic movement on the road, he said.

In Sonepat, a BSNL mobile tower fell down in Sunara market of the city, while scores of trees were uprooted. Some people working nearby had a narrow escape. The residents demanded that the tower be removed from the residential area.

• A mobile tower fell at the Sunara Market of Sonepat (pic) due to heavy storm on Friday night.
• Some people working nearby had a narrow escape.
• Residents demanded that the tower be removed from the residential area.

The main power supply line snapped, due to which water supply was also badly hit in the city, especially in the western part. The power supply snapped off late at night and wasn’t restored till Saturday afternoon in many areas. Ashwani Kaushik, XEN (Sub Urban Division, Sonepat), said a total of 1,334 electricity poles and 122 transformers were damaged due to the storm. “The power supply in urban areas has been almost restored but the supply in some rural areas would be restored tomorrow,” he said.

In Panipat, the power supply was disrupted and resumed in the morning in some areas due to which people, especially in the outer colonies, faced a lot of problems. Heavy rain started late night around 9 pm on Friday with high speed winds and hailstorm.

As per the details available, around 1,500 trees were uprooted in Panipat district. As many as 3,507 electricity poles and 325 transformers got damaged due to the thunderstorm at night. An electricity cable network of approximately 480 km was snapped/damaged, due to which the power supply was disrupted in the whole district.