Nurpur in dark: Uprooted tree causes prolonged power outage

Residents of Nurpur town endured a harrowing Tuesday as power supply remained disrupted for most of the day due to torrential monsoon rains and an uprooted tree. The incident occurred near the Dakki bus stop when a large roadside tree, weakened by the rain, fell on the 11 kV feeder power lines supplying electricity to the town. The resulting damage caused a complete blackout in the area.

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Efforts to restore electricity were delayed significantly due to the unavailability of necessary equipment with the local unit of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd. (HPSEBL). Field staff could not begin restoration work as they lacked mechanical tools to remove the tree. A diesel-powered wood cutter was eventually arranged after several hours, following which the technical team could begin clearing the debris and repair the damaged power lines. Power supply was finally restored late in the evening.

A deeper issue has emerged from the incident: the chronic shortage of manpower and equipment in the Nurpur electrical sub-division. Currently, only four linemen are deployed in the Nurpur section, with just two employees working in shifts—far fewer than the required six to seven linemen across three shifts. This shortage has severely affected HPSEBL’s ability to respond to emergencies swiftly, leaving thousands of urban and rural consumers vulnerable to prolonged outages.

Bhupinder Singh, Assistant Engineer at the electrical sub-division, confirmed that the delay in arranging the wood cutter contributed to the extended outage. He also acknowledged the staff crunch, which continues to hamper effective service delivery.

The incident has raised serious concerns about the preparedness of essential services in the face of increasingly erratic weather patterns and underscores the urgent need for strengthening infrastructure and staffing.