Palampur areas go without power

Palampur, August 12

Heavy rain in Palampur and its adjoining areas paralysed normal life today. Vehicular traffic, power supply and telecommunication services were badly hit. Many parts of Palampur city were without power supply after uprooted big trees fell on transmission lines

Rivers, rivulets and streams in the region were in spate. Public property, roads, water supply and irrigation schemes suffered extensive damage. Vehicular traffic on the Pathankot-Mandi highway remained suspended for hours near 32 Miles following landslides. A tree also fell on the road near the Vikram Batra Stadium, disrupting traffic.

Several parts of Baijnath, Sulaha and Jaisinghpur were without power supply following a snag in transmission lines. Ankur Sharma, Executive Engineer, Electricity Department, said that all efforts were being made to restore power supply but heavy rain hampered the restoration work.

Meanwhile, vehicular traffic on internal roads also remained suspended for hours following heavy landslides and uprooted trees damaging power supply lines.

Official sources said that roads of the Public Works Department (PWD) suffered extensive damage in Palampur, Jaisinghpur, Bhawarna and Baijnath divisions while the water supply schemes of the Irrigation and Public Health Department were also damaged.

DSP, Palampur, Lokinder Thakur said that no loss of life had been reported from any part of the region. He added that the local administration had set up a control room in the SDM office to tackle emergencies arising because of heavy rain. Helpline phone numbers had been released.