Restoring electricity to the flooded homes

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The flood water has receded and now the state is flooded with help from various sections of people. With many volunteers in the city coming forward for relief and rehab work, the staff and students of the Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET) had responded to this need by rectifying the wiring system in a small area in Chengannur.One of the challenges in the rehabilitation of flooded homes was the restoration of electrical systems. In most of the houses, the wiring and appliances were damaged beyond repair.

However, to avoid electrical accidents, the KSEB had disconnected the power in these houses. With a number of such connections running into several lakhs, it was a difficult task for the KSEB to attend to it all alone. The 54-member team led by Head of the Department S Ushakumari will visit Aranmula on Thursday. The team visited Kolamukkam in Chengannur situated near the banks of Pamba River and completed the restoration for 28 households on Monday. They inspected the equipment, cleaned them and replaced the damaged sockets with new ones.

Though the team has returned after their first maintenance work, now it is getting ready for its next task. “The team is preparing for more such rehabilitation activities in the coming days and is all set to visit Ezhikkad in Aranmula on Thursday,” said Ushakumari. The team carried along with them equipment like ELCB, MCB, switches and LED lamps. The cost of replaced items was around Rs 2,500 for each house and was sponsored by the staff of the Electrical Engineering Department. The damaged electricity meters were replaced by the KSEB officers.

The houses were submerged up to the roof and most of the equipment was damaged with mud deposited in it. “When we reached Chengannur, there were families living in darkness. We were able to restore electricity with the help of KSEB staff in 28 houses in a single day. The reward for our work was when we saw the smile on their faces as the power was restored,” said Sreekumaran Nair, first-grade inspector, CET.