Strong winds fell trees, disrupt power

Nagpur: Life in Nagpur was thrown out of gear on Monday evening as strong winds accompanied with rain lashed the city for half an hour bringing traffic to a standstill and disrupting power supply in some areas. Seven trees were uprooted at different places.
The rain, however, provided much-needed relief from the scorching heat as the city recorded 46 degree Celsius. After the rain, the mercury plummeted. Traffic came to a standstill as several trees were uprooted by a strong gust of wind and led to long traffic snarls on major arterial roads. Trees fell in Narendra Nagar, Chhatraparti Nagar area and in Ambazari layout.
Both MSEDCL and SNDL started fixing fixing faults to restore the supply. No injuries or casualties were reported till late evening.
Soon after the thunderstorms, NMC’s fire department and garden department deployed teams to clear the uprooted trees from roads. Normal traffic was restored by 9 pm. “All uprooted trees have been cleared. There was no report of any injury or casualty,” said fire officials.
India Metrological Department (IMD) senior official said these were pre-monsoon showers. “Several districts of the Vidarbha region, including Nagpur, will experience similar weather for the next few days with thunderstorm and gusty winds (30-40 kmph) at isolated places,” the official added.
Even though the wind was strong, power supply was not disrupted in too many areas. MSEDCL spokesperson said Chhatrapati Nagar area was plunged into darkness when a branch of a tree landed on power lines. SNDL officials said that there was a breakdown in Narendra Nagar area when another tree crashed on overhead power cables. It took over an hour to restore supply. Shahu Nagar also went without power for around 40 minutes.