Storm claims 3 lives, power infra hit in Malwa
A storm on Friday night claimed three lives, caused over Rs 5.5-crore losses to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), besides impacting the power transmission and distribution infrastructure across the state. A number of villages remained without power till Saturday evening. The supply was expected to be restored in all affected areas by Sunday morning.
Benra village (Dhuri) resident Charan Singh died after a tree fell on him while returning home from the fields, Pritpal Singh Vaid (52) of Dhuri lost his life when an electricity pole fell on him, while Gurcharan Singh (68) of Majha village (Bhawanigarh) died after the structure of his poultry farm collapsed due to the storm. More than 1,500 chicks were also killed in the poultry farm collapse.
A number of rural and urban areas remained without power for hours across the state. The supply was, however, restored in a majority of these areas by Saturday afternoon. In certain divisions, however, power lines were expected to be restored around midnight.
Senior PSPCL officials said 11 KV transmission lines suffered heavy damage due to which the supply in over 50 villages in Barnala, Sangrur and Patiala districts was affected.
“Power supply was also affected in Samana, Nabha, Dhanaula, Bhawanigarh and other areas. Our teams have managed to restore industrial and domestic power supply in a majority of these areas,” they said. In Patiala, many areas remained “powerless” throughout Saturday.
Another PSPCL official said 220 KV transmission lines from Nabha to Bhawanigarh grid and several towers were damaged, causing Rs 3 crore loss to the power utility. “Around 2,000 electricity poles and 100 transformers were also damaged, causing Rs 2.5 crore loss,” he added.
The loss caused to the agriculture sector was yet to be assessed, PSPCL senior officials said. “Power supply was hit in Malwa areas. While supply was restored within a couple of hours in regular colonies, power restoration in slums and illegal colonies took around 8-10 hours,” said an official. Hundreds of trees were also uprooted due to the storm in the Malwa belt. That led to power supply disruption in Malerkotla, Patiala, Sangrur and Barnala areas.
Around 2-3 per cent yield loss was likely to wheat growers due to the storm, said an agriculture official.
